Ngalbagutja—Wopetbungundilar was commissioned for the 2024 Peel Street Park Projection Program.
Uncle Claude Douglas is a Gunditjamara and Wotjobaluk man who has lived in Fitzroy since he was 16 years old. His family's bloodline totem is the red-tailed black cockatoo, and his skin name is 'Waa'. He is named after Waa the Crow, protector and messenger of the Creator Spirit Bunjil's lore.
Lake Albucutya, within the Wimmera region of Victoria, is known by the Wotjobaluk people as Ngalbagutja. Wopetbungundilar is the Wotjobaluk word for the Horsham area, which means, ‘place of flowers and feathers.’
This animation of Uncle Claude's distinct drawings takes his audience on a journey through Country. His interpretations of spirit animals and other unique characters now occupy this urban space, as they make their way across the land, the sky and through the waterways.
Uncle Claude has a deep love for all creatures, and often rescues and nurtures injured animals and birds. He explains that he is inspired by “the wildlife of all the Countries as they are totemic to us Blak fullas, and they connect us all.”