Three Bark Paintings – Bathurst Island (Tiwi Islands), Northern Australia 1970s This fine group of three bark paintings originates from Bathurst Island, part of the Tiwi Islands off the northern coast of Australia. Created in the 1970s, the works belong to a period in which Tiwi artists were increasingly producing bark paintings for cultural exchange and the art market, while still firmly grounded in ceremonial and ancestral traditions. Each painting is executed on carefully prepared eucalyptus bark, using natural earth pigments bound with plant-based fixatives. The surfaces display a rich palette of ochres—deep reds, warm yellows, white kaolin, and black manganese—applied with confident, controlled brushwork. The compositions are dominated by strong linear structures and rhythmic patterning, characteristic of Tiwi visual language. Repeated motifs and finely balanced fields of color suggest ceremonial body painting designs, mortuary symbolism, and references to ancestral beings connected to land, sea, and clan identity. While figurative elements are abstracted, the works clearly evoke ritual movement, song cycles, and the spiritual presence of the ancestors. The paintings show a sophisticated understanding of negative space and visual tension, with patterns flowing organically across the bark surface. Natural irregularities in the bark—edges, grain, and slight curvature—have been thoughtfully incorporated into the compositions, enhancing their sculptural quality. All three works exhibit an excellent surface condition for their age, with well-preserved pigments and stable bark structure. Minor age-related wear and natural cracking are present, consistent with authenticity and careful handling over decades. Together, these bark paintings form a coherent and high-quality group that reflects the artistic vitality of Bathurst Island in the 1970s. They represent an important phase in Tiwi art history, where traditional ceremonial imagery was translated into enduring visual works without loss of cultural depth or integrity. Origin: Bathurst Island (Tiwi Islands), Northern Territory, Australia Date: 1970s Material: Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark Condition: Excellent, with minor age-related We pack with care, sending all over the world for 35 years already A must have for collectors, ethnographers, ethnologists, anthropologists and museums Sold by Koos Knol, ethnographer and anthropologist, dealer of Papua Tribal Art for more than 30 years, expert and author of the book “Papua Blues”, written in Dutch. (Maybe in English next year.)  Published end of October 2024 A book about inside stories, a book that deals with the many encounters with special people in West Papua, the impressive experiences that the author has, about special encounters with men and women who tell him about secret things, about ethnographic objects and initiate him into the rituals and ceremonies. A must have for collectors, ethnographers, ethnologists, anthropologists and museums Google: Papua Blues Koos Knol