Luther Cora comes from the Bungarre family of the Yugumbeh language group of the Bundjalung nation which is in the Gold Coast/Tweed area. His Aboriginal name is Bullam which means Black Cockatoo. Luther is a contemporary aboriginal artist that has been painting from a young age. He has learnt from many of his uncles from far North Queensland, South East Queensland and even from Central Australia N.T. Luther is the 2020 SWELL Sculpture Festival Ambassador.
2020 SWELL ARTWORK – Mullet Season, Luther Cora
The Mullet are very important to our family, here on the Gold Coast and in the Tweed Heads area.
Mullet migrate from the cold waters in the South to the warmer waters in the North, during the cooler months. The flowering of the paperback trees is the very first sign for our family that the mullet will start to travel through this area and it’s time to grab our fishing gear, our spears, our nets, head down to the waters and start fishing. So this time of the mullet season is a very happy time. It’s a time of abundance.
People from surrounding areas visit the Gold Coast to hunt on those mullet fish in the coastal creeks and waterways, to come together, to share stories, to share dances and songs. It’s a very important time, when the mullet are ready to harvest and are at their fattest:- full of oils that keep us warm during winter. The mullet are painted in a range of colors to represent different people and our skin colors, all living together in this world, this ocean, this sea, and we’re all traveling the same way and respecting each other, acknowledging that we’re all in this together.
Come and see for yourself at SWELL Sculpture Festival, Pacific Parade, Currumbin 11-20 September.