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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  The Marc & Elena Pinto Collection
• Sale Date:
  20 May 2015 ~ 6.30pm
• Lot #:
  58
• Lot Description:
  Roy Wiggan
  (born 1930)
  Untitled (Ilma) (2002)
  synthetic polymer paint, cotton wool and wire on wood
  133 x 80 cm (irregular)
• Provenance:
  Private Collection, Western Australia; Important Aboriginal Art, Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 4 June 2006, lot 495; The Marc and Elena Pinto Collection, Perth
• Notes:
  Ilma is a word that can mean either a song cycle or a dance performance. The term is also used to describe the artefacts used in the dance. Sometimes, these are called ÔtotemsÕ by non-Aboriginals. They are more complicated forms of the thread-cross ÔGodÕs EyesÕ found among many peoples right around the world. Ilma were originally made by winding long lengths of hair or possum fur string around a frame that was often made by tying two or more sticks together to form either a single, or a double ended cross. Long ilma were often made using a spear shaft as the main frame piece. Bird or vegetable down was stuck with resin onto the ilma to create pleasing contrasts of light and dark with the hair string webbing. With access to tin, commercial paints and coloured wool, the Bardi developed ilma into an art form in their own right. Forms and frames cut from tin permitted more complicated sculptural forms to be created than had been possible with the simple stick constructions. Today plywood has replaced the heavier tin base of ilma sculptures. Tin and plywood are cut into shapes representing islands, and other topographic features. Other natural phenomena such as clouds, lightning, whirlpools and tidal movements were signified by the complex yet elegant patterns of wool and painted tin. For several decades Bardi elder and artist, Roy Wiggan has been creating many new forms of ilma. These new sculptures are extensions of the original suite of ilma created by the late Billy Ah Choo when he first composed an Ilma performance based on the exploits of RoyÕs father many years ago. Like Billy, Roy receives inspiration for his creations through dream visitations from dead kinsmen, as he lies asleep. Today RoyÕs ilmas are to be found in many galleries and collections around the nation. Kim Akerman
• Estimate:
  A$1,800 - 2,500
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.