Libundja Sculpture and bark painting
The aim of this article is to assist readers in identifying if their aboriginal sculpture or painting is by Libundja Gapapuyngu. It compares known examples of his work. Libundja Gapapuyngu bark paintings are in the Central Arnhem Land Style using traditional ochres. He is a recognized aboriginal bark painting and sculpture Artist. His best known for his sculptures of Mokoy which are very collectible.
If you have a Libundja sculpture
Libundja was one of only a few Central Arnhem land sculpture artists. A few other artists known to do sculpture in this region include David Malangi, Mick Magani
Libundja Sculpture
He is best known for his sculptures Mokoy Figures of the Wild Honey Totem. These Mokoy figures range in size from 30 cm to over a meter tall, The chest and thighs on figures are often painted with diamond shapes. These diamonds represent the traditional body painting of the wild honey men. The diamonds in body paint represent honeycomb. The faces of his figures tend to be triangular when viewed face on with a rectangular forehead. The sex of his figures is not shown but are male. Some of his sculptures have the arms attached to the body. He also sculptured birds and a dugong.
Other well known Arnhem land sculpture artists include Crusoe Guningbal and Teeampi
Libundja Bark paintings
His bark paintings vary a lot in style. They often incorporate the
He also depicts turtles, leaves, sacred objects, fish, birds snakes and abstract design.
Biography
He was born around 1912 and died in 1968. He spoke Gupapuyngu language. If anyone knows more information about the biography of Libundja, please contact me as I would like to add it to this article.
Libundja is sometimes also spelled Lipundja
All images in this article are for educational purposes only.
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Libundja Gapapuyngu Art Images
The following images are not a complete list of the artist’s works but give some idea of his style and variety.
