Finding frogs in the night to put on the cross line to catch a Ponde or Pilarkie over night

The River Murray was home to Ian Abdulla, a flamboyant Ngarrindjeri artist with Afghan heritage. Born in Swan Reach, South Australia, he lived around the state’s Riverland region, where at the Jerry Mason Centre, Glossop, in 1988 he began painting and made his first prints.

Finding frogs in the night to put on the cross line to catch a Ponde or Pilarkie over night was Abdulla’s first large-scale painting and came from his first solo exhibition at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, in 1990. He has joyfully painted his memories of fishing with family and friends for ponde (Murray cod) and pilarkie (golden perch). In this nocturnal scene, frogs try to scurry away in the torchlight, scaling the trunks of mighty river red gums. Abdulla’s sense of humour is ever-present in his work, and the inclusion of writing across the sky, one of his signature techniques, draws us into his world.

Nici Cumpston, Senior Curator, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art / Artistic Director Tarnanthi