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The Cord to Alcheringa was the first of four major series inspired by Aboriginal ritual and legend. It was followed by The Chant for Kurdaitcha (1954), Love Magic (1954) and The Legend of the Black Swan (1956). All four series reflect an affinity with an Aboriginal view of the world that is incorporated within Elizabeth Durack's own perceptions and distinctive style. The paintings stem partly from personal experience of ceremonies, from familiarity with ancient masterpieces on rock faces in northern Australia, and from lessons learnt from Jubul, a bark painter from Arnhem Land. The artist’s notes, (to UWA Vice-Chancellor Stanley Prescott in January 1954), elucidate certain aspects of the paintings while acknowledging that much within them cannot be explained: ' ... without wishing to indulge in fantasy I can frankly say I am not quite sure where this particular crop of work came from. I know that while I worked on it I was in a peculiar state of being possessed — this particular expression called for this particular treatment ... the fact is, whatever I have captured of the tenuous 'Cord to Alcheringa ...' could only be translated by a reversion to the first available medium [ochre] and by a re-orientation to the primary arrangements of composition and formal construction ...' The Cord to Alcheringa, together with the three comparable series, expresses a rare intuitive fusion of two worlds.

The Cord to Alcheringa
1953
earth pigments and fibre on board
88 x 112 cm
University of Western Australia Art Collection
no 7 of the sequence
With face completely covered with emu feather down and head wrapped in a huge coil of hair string, the participant is rendered immobile. He will sit motionless during the long ceremony as guardian to the sacred totem representing a Spirit animal ancestor.