On display in the ground floor gallery are Wangarra Spirits, new bronze castings by Maningrida artist Serena Bonson. Bonson carves these figures out of stringy bark collected on her country. Wangarra are spirits that inhabit the An-mujolkuwa clan waterhole and are reborn as new members of the clan. The birth of a child is always announced in a dream, when the spirit of the new child makes itself known to the child’s father. In collaboration with FireWorks Gallery (since 2014) these spirit forms have been remodelled in plasticine, cast in bronze and aluminium with black patina then brushed back to reveal the (silver and gold) lustre of the metal. The timeless beauty of these sculptures is enhanced with possibilities of both indoor and outdoor placement.
