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Description

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
Worm Dreaming, 1996
Acrylic on linen, 183 x 122cm

The Worm Dreaming story has already been covered in this catalogue but what sets this work apart is its dotted design of the worm tracks and the background colour. Both are exceptionally rare in Cliffords’ Worm Dreamings. The reason that this master work was so meticulously executed is attributable to the Kluge family visiting Sydney and then considering a trip to Melbourne to visit Clifford. The Kluges are major collectors of Aboriginal art and great patrons of Clifford so he decided to paint a ‘special’ work in anticipation. As it turned out the Kluges did not visit the artist and the work remained in Australia. Other important features of this work are the tracks of the crows as they look for the worms and the star like Spinifex Grass which again alludes to ceremony as its burning produced a resin used to attach objects together that may have been used as ceremonial paraphernalia.