4. Thribala Bafalo (three buffalo)
“We’re always using the bright colours [here at Ngukurr], this one is a bit different. The stories come from my knowledge, my Dad started to teach me and I’ve got it in my head. I saw my Dad doing the skulls, so I said I would do the skulls.” ~ Luke Djalgarrarra
- Acrylic on stringybark
- Dimensions: 131cm x 33cm
- Cat No. 202-24
Dijan stori im budu main nolitj. Main dadi bin larnim mi en mi gadi la main garbada. Ibin luk main dadi dumbat skal en Ibin wandi dum du. Mela oldai dum wek gada kaladwan kala. Mela usim kaladwan kala ya la Nuka. Dijan im difrainwan.
Luke lives with his wife Debbie and his five young children in Ngukurr community, 331 kilometres south-east of Katherine on the Roper Highway. His work depicts stories of country, animals and birds that he has seen out bush.
What makes his work unique is the bright experimental colours and beautifully carved shapes. He loves using metallic paints, as well as leaving exposed wood on his carvings. Luke grew up watching his father work as a sculptor and painter on Goulburn Island.
He was also taught by his uncles on Elcho Island who were also great carvers and painters. Luke started painting his own work when he was just 17 and more recently has been carving sculptures of birds and animals.
Luke has exhibited at the Godinymayin Yidjard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre in 2022, the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair 2020 and 2021, and at Japingka Gallery in Perth in 2016.
Ngukurr Art Centre sits a stone’s throw from the banks of the Roper River in Ngukurr, South East Arnhem Land. The Art Centre, like the town of Ngukurr, is unique – bringing together people of many different clans and language groups including Ngalakgan, Alawa, Mangarrayi, Ngandi, Marra, Warndarrang, Nunggubuyu, Ritharrngu-Wägilak and Rembarrnga. Together these clans are known as Yugul Mangi.
On standard shipping, our fulfilment time is 7 business days. For urgent orders, please select express post and we will generally fulfil within 2 business days. We are a very small team and shipping from Darwin can take some time. Thanks for your patience!
We pack all artworks securely to protect during shipping. All artworks and purchase above $100 are insured against damage during transit and require a signature on delivery. A tracking number is be provided as part of our shipping process to the contact details you provide.
As much as possible (for artworks under 1 metre) we use Australia Post to ship our artworks within Australia. For artworks that are large or fragile, we use Pack n Send to courier the artworks to you. For customers who purchase multiple artworks at once, we can get quotes to send your purchase via the regular shuttle between Darwin and major capital cities.
We do our best to provide accurate shipping costs on our website at check out, however every item for sale in our gallery is unique and as such, it is sometimes difficult to automate and estimate our shipping costs, especially when customers purchase more than one artwork at once. Our team reviews the postage paid on every order and on the odd occasion we have significantly overcharged or undercharged you, our team will be in contact to rectify. If you have any concerns, or you would like a custom shipping quote on an artwork, send us a note.
International customer? Please contact us to arrange a quote.
Visiting Darwin or a local? Local pick up available during normal opening hours.