Lorrkon, 2009, Emmanuel Wurrkidj
Springybark with natural earth pigment, 188cm x 20m
Provenance: Maningrida Arts & Culture, Northern Territory. Birrung Gallery, World Vision, Sydney. Mossgreen, Melbourne.
The Lorrkkon or bone pole coffin ceremony was the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony involves the placing of the deceased’s bones into a hollow log, which is decorated with painted clan designs and ceremonially placed into the ground where it remained until it slowly decay over many years. The log is made from a termite hollowed stringybark tree (Eucalyptus tetradonta) and is decorated with totemic emblems.