Mitching
Mitching is a very good Mum. She was adopted by a loving family from NSW and is now living a very good life there.
- Acrylic on metal
- Dimensions: 17cm x 8cm
This original work of art supports a community-based social program keeping animals and people in Yuendumu healthy, safe and happy.
Dogs in Warlpiri are called ‘Jarntu’ or ‘maliki’ . Families in Yuendumu tend to own many dogs. They are good ‘marlpa’ (company). Many people think of their dogs as ‘warlalja’ (family). Dogs in Yuendumu like to follow their owners around whenever they can. Some people use their dogs to help them hunt ‘marlu’ (kangaroo) and ‘wardapi’ (goanna), among other animals. People also have dogs to protect themselves from intruders, monsters, and other things that might try to hurt them and their family. Many monsters are invisible to ‘yapa’ (Aboriginal people). However, dogs are able to see and smell them. Dogs will warn ‘yapa’ about them or steer them away from the monsters, and thereby keep them safe.
‘Jarntu’ or ‘maliki’ also feature in a number of ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming) stories. One ‘maliki Jukurrpa’ (dog Dreaming) comes from a site called Pindara, southwest of Yuendumu. Another dog Dreaming story, ‘malikijarra Jukurrpa’ (two dogs Dreaming), comes from country adjacent to Warlarla (Rabbit Flat). This site is part of a long Dreaming track that stretches from Yarrajalpa in the extreme west of Warlpiri country to Warlaku (Ali Curung) in the east. This Dreaming story describes proper conduct in families and marriages.
Warlukurlangu Artists is one of the longest running and most successful Aboriginal-owned art centres in Central Australia. Purchase of artworks from Warlukurlangu Artists provides funds which support our special projects to improve the health and well-being of all the community.
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.