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Click to enlargeb. c.1937
- Region
- Kimberley
- Community
- Kalumburu
- Language group
- Tjarintji; Wunambal (Woonambal)
Wandjinas, 1989
natural earth pigments on slate
36 x 42 cm (irregular); 51 x 56 cm frame
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- Provenance
- Narrangunny Art Traders, Kununurra, WA, Cat no. N-0051-LK
- Artwork story
- It is said that the Wandjina spirit figure is the embodiment of the rain spirit and ancestor of the Wunambal, Ngarinyin and Worrora peoples of the north west Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is here where ancient artisans reproduced their images on the walls of the caves and rock formations of the plateau areas along the coast and hinterland. They are always pictured, in ochres and clays, from a frontal aspect, with no mouths, and large black eyes and a slit or beak-like nose. The icons are usually depicted in a veil of dots representing the blood and water mix of man and animal.