Randuwa II: National Gallery of Art: The Stars We Do Not See, part 2

Friday, February 20, 2026

National Gallery of Art: The Stars We Do Not See, part 2

If you know the National Gallery of Art's East Wing, you know that there is an amazing overlook into the opening gallery of the main floor exhibition space. Looking over it was like looking into something magical. Something from another world entirely.

Come with me as I share images and ideas with you. I am breaking this down into what I hope are bite-sized chunks.

The first thing you notice are these impressive tree-trunk like totems, which are, in fact, made from tree trunks. The Stringy Bark Tree to be exact. They are hollowed out and used as coffins to hold the bones of the death. Once the flesh has desiccated, the bones are gathered, painted and placed inside of a trunk of this tree that has been hollowed out. And there they begin their journey into the next world.

Today, these are also created strictly for artistic reasons. They are called "larrakitj" or "Lorrkon" (which seems a more palatable word for western tongues.)

The Central Blue Lorrkon with the diamond patterns in the above images is:

"Gurtha," 2020, by Dhambit Munungurr, 1968 - of the Djapu people.