Ngandayi

“Ngayinya kirda NGANDAYI bayi lurrbu yarnani. Barna karlunini ngaynyala mayingka.”

(My father’s shadow [spirit] comes back into me. I have it in my body.)

Ngandayi, the exhibition, represents the work of Mudburra artist Ray Dimakarri Dixon and his children Eleanor Jawurlngali Dixon and Arthur Jalyarri Dixon. It’s the first time they are showing together and also Ray’s first exhibition as a visual artist. The Mudburra word Ngandayi means shadow or shade and has particular reference to the shade or spirit of a tree. With this exhibition, Ngandayi is also the idea of these three artists coming together under a shared spirit, from the same family tree, as expressed by the quote above which comes from Ray’s father. Ngandayi, according to Eleanor, is related to ngurlu which is “like the interconnected essence we identify with nature”, she writes, “especially trees, and through the kinship and ancestral connections of being. It’s a cycle”, “which leads to Ngurramala, a word which expresses a connection to and protection of Country.” Each artist responds to and expresses these concepts in their own individual style through works which are visually exciting and culturally profound.

by Maurice O’Riordan

Exhibition Catalogue (PDF)