• 3. Mandjabu (Fishtrap)
  • 3. Mandjabu (Fishtrap)
  • 3. Mandjabu (Fishtrap)

Sandra Richards

3. Mandjabu (Fishtrap)

  

"This artwork is all the fish and turtle going inside the fishtrap. They went in and they couldn’t go out. The bottom of the fishtrap is blocked. There’s a hole where they go in. The fishtrap I have painted was sitting in the water long time, and the little seaweed came in. I’ve painted saratoga, barramundi, and lots of little fish, nail fish, long neck turtle and short neck turtle. Theres a little log that the turtles are going inside, and there’s crayfish and prawn, and leeches on the side. All the different fish going inside. We take it out and cook them all on the fire. We eat all the fish, and the short neck and long neck turtle too. This is our ‘safety net’. If we can’t get fish on a line, we go and get this mandjabu."

  • Ochre and Ink on Arches Paper
  • Dimensions: 106 x 76cm (unframed), 120 x 910cm (framed)
  • Cat No. 1836-24


Sandra Richards is the second eldest daughter of the acclaimed artist, songman, and cultural leader Jack Nawilil. She resides at her outstation, Bolkdjam, year-round, raising the next generation to be culturally strong. Sandra has learnt art making under the tutelage of her father, mastering the art of bark painting and depicting Balngarra clan totems Mannarlinj (Bush potato), Kunkarninj (Digging stick) and Kunkarlewobe (Freshwater fish trap)


Maningrida Arts & Culture is a pre-eminent site of contemporary cultural expression and art-making, abundant with highly collectable art and emerging talent. Through their homelands resource organisation, Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, artists turned an art trade that began just over 50 years ago into a multi-million dollar arts and cultural enterprise.

Maningrida Arts & Culture supported hundreds of artists on their homelands, more than 20 artworkers, held 20 exhibitions annually, won prestigious awards, and enjoyed the international fame and success that the boom in the Aboriginal art market of the 1990s and 2000s enabled. 

We pack all artworks securely to protect during shipping. Items valued over $100 are insured for damage during transit. Artworks less then one metre are generally sent insured via Australia Post, unless they are particularly fragile. Artworks longer than one metre are sent via Pack n Send.