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Hare Wallaby and Possum Dreaming, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
  • Artist
    Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
  • Born
    1930
  • Died
    2002
  • Title
    Hare Wallaby and Possum Dreaming
  • Date of Production
    (1984)
  • Medium
    acrylic paint on linen
  • Dimensions
    244.1 x 366 cm
  • Credit Details
    Purchased with the assistance of the Visual Arts Board, Australia Council, 1985

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri

Hare Wallaby and Possum Dreaming

An accomplished wood carver and painter, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri joined the Papunya Tula School in the late 1970's. This massive work with its earthy colours, symmetrical composition and mythological detail relates to the meeting at Yakuti of the Hare Wallaby (Mala) ancestral group of Port Augusta and the Possum (Wayuta) ancestral group coming from the east.

A member of the Anmatyerre people and a custodian of the possum dreaming sites at Napperby, Tjapaltjarri has depicted here three separate ceremonies that occurred at Yakuti during the Dreamtime when differences between these two groups were resolved. The middle panel with the white tracks relates to the Hare Wallaby's performance while those to either side of it belong to the Possum people. While these three middle panels relate to male ceremonies (Malierra), the artist has also depicted in the outermost panels the female ceremonies (Yawulya) that were performed some distance away.

Purchased with the assistance of the Visual Arts Board, Australia Council, 1985