Crusoe Kurddal (1960/1961 - 2020) was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

artist known for his Mimih and

Yawkyawk The Yawkyawk is a female creature originating in the mythology of the Kunwinjku people of Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. It is also known as ngal-kunburriyaymi. It is a creature similar to the typical mermaid in appearance, ...

sculptures, and acting roles.

Biography

Crusoe Kurddal is an artist, dancer, singer and actor who lives and works in

Maningrida Maningrida, also known as Manayingkarírra and Manawukan, is an Aboriginal community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory. Maningrida is east of Darwin, and north east of Jabiru. It is on the North Central ...

, an aboriginal community in central Arnhem Land of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

of Australia. Kurddal's work is known for its inclusion of Mimih figures, and he inherited the right to paint these figures from his late father, Crusoe Kuningbal. Mimih are tall, slender spirits that live in the plateau of Arnhem Land. Kurddal's brother, Owen Yalandja, also inherited the rights to paint Mimih figures, and the two brothers continue to make sculptures of Mimih figures in the vein of their late father's artwork. Presently, Kurddal has been making sculptures of Yawkyawk figures for ceremonial purpose and also sale. Along with working as a visual artist, Kurddal was also an actor, and he starred in the 2006 film ''

Ten Canoes ''Ten Canoes'' is a 2006 Australian drama film directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and starring Crusoe Kurddal. The title of the film arose from discussions between de Heer and David Gulpilil about a photograph of ten canoeists poling ...

'' as Ridjimiraril.

Artistic career

Crusoe Kurddal started his artistic career with Mimih spirits as his primary subject matter. Originally from the

region of central Arnhem Land, the stories and depictions of the Mimih have been around locally for many years but sculptures are newer. The mimih are spirits from the rock country that are thought to be long, skinny beings that live and move within the cracks of the rocks. Mimih sculptures are usually carved from thin trunks of softwood trees. The body forms have humorous insinuation to them because of many stories. Traditionally Mimih's had traditional

rarrk Bark painting is an Australian Aboriginal art form, involving painting on the interior of a strip of tree bark. This is a continuing form of artistic expression in Arnhem Land (especially among the Yolngu peoples) and other regions in the Top ...

designs, but Kurddal's father utilised small dots and passed it down to his sons. Later, Crusoe Kurddal switched to sculpting Yawkyawk figures. Yawkyawks are similar to mermaids with the head of a woman and the body of a fish. He carved his sculptures out of wooden poles. Kurrdal made the switch to Yawkyawk figures because he believed they were more easily understood by non-Indigenous viewers as compared to his previous works that depicted sacred ceremonial iconography.

Influences

Crusoe Kurddal's father, Crusoe Kuningbul, heavily influenced his work. Kunningbul was born in the Middle Liverpool River region, and during WWII he moved to Milingimbi. After the war, he began bark painting at Maningrida, but he finally relocated to Barrihdjowkkeng where he ultimately raised Crusoe and his brothers Owen Yalandja and Tim Wulanibirr. Throughout his prolific career, Kuningbul depicted Mimih spirits through sculptures and in bark paintings. Kunningbul was the first artist to depict Mimih figures in sculptural form, and he created these figures from 1968 until his death in 1984. Kunningbul also performed traditional dances and songs, and sometimes, he performed alongside his Mimih sculptures in Kuninjku trade ceremonies called Mamurrng — the sculptures were specifically developed for these ceremonies. Mamurrng ceremonies are traditional ceremonies that celebrate male births. After Kunningbul's death, Kurddal and his brother Owen Yalandja inherited the right to create Mimih sculptures from Kunningbul. Kurddal's 1985 sculpture entitled Mimih Spirit serves as an example of one of Kurddal's Mimih sculptures that continues in the vein of Kuningbul's artwork. Kurddal began to make Mimih sculptures that are significantly larger in scale than his father-s in the mid-1980s.

Legacy

Crusoe Kurddal's father—Crusoe Kuningbal—Kurdddal himself, and Owen Yalandja pioneered the creation of Mimih sculptures, but their bodies of work influenced the work of succeeding aboriginal artists. Since the 1980s, other Kuninjku people have been producing sculptures of similar figures because of Kuningbal and, later, his sons; however, Kurddal and Yalandja made the most innovative strides.

Acting roles

In 2006, Crusoe Kurddal played the leading role as Ridjimiraril in Rolf de Heer's ''

''. It was the first movie filmed entirely using Australian Aboriginal languages and is a moral tale set in Arnhem Land. Ten Canoes was a critically acclaimed film, winning Best Film at the Australian Film Institute Awards and

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

Special Jury Prize at the 2006

Festival de Cannes The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. He has also acted in the movies ''Australia'' and '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. He was also a musician who acted and created music for the drama ''The Sleeping Warrior''.

Collections

* Art Gallery of New South Wales *

Gold Coast City Art Gallery The Gold Coast City Art Gallery was a regional Art museum located in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Opened in 1986, the Gallery was part of HOTA, Home of the Arts (formerly known as the Gold Coast Art Centre) whic ...

Museum D'Histoire Naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

de Lyon, France *

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

Significant exhibitions

*1996-97: ''Gamarada.'' Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 15 Nov 1996–16 Feb 1997 *1999-00: ''Another Country''. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Jul 1999–02 Apr 2000 *2004: ''Crossing Country: The Alchemy of Western Arnhem Land Art.'' Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 24 September 2004 – 12 December 2004 *2008-09: ''Country Culture Community (2008-09).'' Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 12 Nov 2008–19 Apr 2009

Death

Crusoe Kurddal died in 2020.