ABORIGINAL DESERT ART  GALLERY

Edward Blitner Taiita

Edward started painting when he was seven years old.

Area: Ngukkurr
Country: Naiyarindji
Clan: Barbil
Moiety: Mambal
Totem: Bandiyan Born: 1963

"My grandfather would be painting on bark and we kids would sit around him and watch him grind the ochre’s and mix the colours, after a while he would tell us the story for that particular painting and also teach us the songs and dance for that story. When he was in a very good mood, he let us paint the sides of the bark painting, that was my start."

"My country NAIYARINDJI and the community NGUKKURR is approximately 270 km Southeast of Katherine, N.T. on the Roper River, now called the Yugul Mangl Community. "

Many good painters emerged from that community and are represented in most major Australian and over sees galleries. It has taken Eddy many years to learn to paint the stories and the Dreamings, past on to him by his grandfather. Edward is also a accomplished woodcarver. Some of Eddy’s bird carvings stand 2 meters high and are fully decorated and cross hatched (wrarrk). The detailed wrarrk (cross hatching) shown in Edwards paintings and carvings, is the artists family body design and is sacred to his clan.

Other members of his clan ( Barbil ) taught him how to make flint spear heads, tradition hunting boomerangs and most importantly how to hunt, fish, find bush tucker and make bush medicine to survive. Eddy has painted for the Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery (Michael Hollow) Alice Springs since 1994..

In this painting Edward has depicted the Mimi Man spirit from Alawa teaching the young man from West to East Arnhem Land how to hunt,fish and live from the land.

The crystal clear Spring Water flows over the rocky platforms into Larrmarrdama, which is one of the most important sacred sites in the Naiyarindji country (Barramundi Dreaming). The painting is painted in the unique cross hatched (wrarrk) style for which Eddy is famous for. The detailed wrarrk executed with fine and intricate crosshatching shown in Edwards paintings and carvings, is the artists family body design and is sacred to his clan.