"Seeing Mardayin\´: Instability and Ambiguity in the Art of John Mawurndjul, Kuninjku, Arnhem Land, Northern Australia

According to the ´Yolngu´ and ´Kuninjku´ peoples of Arnhem Land, northern Australia their art connects knowledge to the land. Land comes into being as a part of an ancestral dreaming enacted through performative storytelling. In this region a particular technique for revealing elements of nature is used called ´rarrk´. The technique employs a crosshatched layering of coloured lines. The surface of these images present a powerful but ambiguous visual and emotional effect on the viewer. It creates a dialogue not ordinarily possible with more traditional flattened or chiaroscuro techniques. Similar yet distinct from the more familiar moire effects of the early twentieth century European Impressionists, the technique is a peculiarly potent method for communicating a local cultural heritage knowledge to those initiated in its conventions. The work of a local Aboriginal artist who specializes in rarrk, Mawurndjul, is explored as a case study in the stability and ambiguity of the images generated using this technique. The paper explores the technique, its use and effectiveness and suggests it as a cultural heritage knowledge communication schema, highlighting the plethora of schemas yet to be explored in cultural heritage knowledge visualisation in general.