Kiju

$2,900 AUD

Artist:

Lila Creek

Size:

101.6cm x 152.4cm

Medium:

Earth and Dry Pigment on Linen

Orientation

This artwork can be hung landscape or portrait

Format::

|stretched

Variant

Kiju (mud crab) is very good eating. I have been hunting kiju with my family all my life. We make a fire on the beach and wait for it to die down and then cook the kiju on the coals. In my culture, we leave the shell where we can catch the kiju so next time there will be plenty more to hunt and eat. this was what my elders taught me, and I am showing the young ones how to look after their Country and to do things the right way.

The best time to go hunting for mud crab is when the mangkurru (mangroves) are flowering. That's when we know the kiju is nice and fat.

Us Bana (people), use plants to tell us when to hunt or collect certain foods. It's our culture and lore.

Artists Biography

Lila Creek is a Kuku Nyungkul and Kaanju artist born in Mossman in 1952. She has been a dedicated member of Bana Yirriji Art Centre for over six years, creating work that reflects her deep cultural knowledge, connection to Country, and strong family heritage. Lila’s family is central to her life; she is a mother of four, step-mother of three, grandmother to 21 grandchildren, and great-grandmother to 29 great-grandchildren. “I love going out with the family to the beach hunting for food and having a fire with damper,” she says.

Lila’s mother’s family come from the Kuku Nyungkul clan of the Shipton Flat and Helenvale area, while her father belongs to the Kaanju people of Coen. Her art practice draws from these intertwined cultural lineages, and from the stories, languages and traditions passed down by her Elders.

Lila works across painting, screen-printing, jewellery and textiles, expressing her love for bright colours and the joy they bring. Her artworks often depict Country as a living storybook, recorded through the Baral (tracks) of animals such as Kurriyala the snake, Walkarr the lizard, and Kadar the wallaby, as well as new “Waybala” tracks introduced through cars and cattle.

She has exhibited widely in group shows including Cape York Art in Cooktown, the Darwin and Cairns Art Fairs, and the Endeavour Voyage exhibition at the National Museum of Australia. Through her art, Lila continues to share cultural knowledge, celebrate her Country, and help strengthen the stories that connect her family and community across generations.

Purchasing your artwork

We have taken great care to ensure that the details, descriptions and prices quoted are correct at the time of publishing.

We have made every effort to render as accurately as possible the colour and design of the products that appear on the website. However, as the actual colours you see will depend on your personal computer equipment, we cannot guarantee that your monitor's display of any colour will accurately reflect the colour of the merchandise on delivery.

Please note that to ensure the safety of your painting, as well as minimizing postage costs, all paintings are dispatched unstretched and rolled. This means that it will require stretching over a frame, prior to being hung. Whilst you can do this yourself, we recommend that a professional framer is used, to ensure that the painting is not damaged.

If this does not suit your requirements, and you wish to purchase a painting pre-stretched, please contact us, nichola@aboriginalcontemporary.com.au to discuss alternative options and prices.

We appreciate that at any price, each painting is an investment and we are happy to answer any questions that you might have.

Certificates of Authenticity

Every artwork comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, issued by the art centre, which includes details of both the artist and the artwork. Different art centres’ certificates look different, however they will all have the following information:

Artist name
Information about the artist, such as language group, place of birth, skin name
Picture of the artwork and in some cases the artist
Title of the artwork
Size of the artwork – make sure it matches the actual artwork
Story – This will vary in length and detail from art centre to art centre and from artist to artist
Catalogue number - this is an important code that links the artwork back to the artist, art centre and the date it was produced

Shipping & Delivery

Dispatch
We aim to process all orders on the next working day after payment has cleared. You will receive an email confirmation with tracking details after dispatch.

Domestic Orders
Most parcels are sent via Australia Post e-parcel, allowing us to track your orders from placement to delivery. Paintings are normally dispatched unstretched and rolled in a postal tube. Please advise if you would like otherwise.

International Orders
Most international orders are shipped with Australia Post’s e-parcel at a flat rate of $44.50. Paintings are normally dispatched unstretched and rolled in a postal tube. Please advise if you would like otherwise. Certain items, such as large or delicate pieces may require a custom solution. If a shipping cost does not appear at checkout, we will contact you with a quotation, prior to the item being dispatched.

Delivery Times
For standard parcels within Australia, please allow 2-5 working days – larger items may take longer. For international parcels, please allow 11-14 working days, depending on the destination. All orders require a signature upon receipt. Unfortunately, we are unable to redirect orders once items have been dispatched.

Damaged Items
Please check your delivery as soon as possible and advise us of any issues.

View more by this artist

About Aboriginal Contemporary

Aboriginal Contemporary has an enviable reputation for quality, service and ethical trading; not just with our customers but with the art centres from whom we source our work.

This is in no small part due to owner Nichola Dare’s regular trips to some of the most remote parts of Australia and her ability to build relationships with art centres and artists, based on mutual trust and respect. Nichola’s time in Australia’s Western Desert, The Kimberley, APY Lands and Arnhem Land has also given her a deep understanding of the country and culture at the heart of the art we sell.

Kiju

Kiju

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