Art from the Kimberley

www.makingtracks.com.au - Books I would recommend..... Contemporary Aboriginal Art by Sue McCulloch, Images of Power by Judith Ryan ad Aboriginal Art by Wally Caruana, all available on the Making Tracks website

In 1995 the National Gallery or Victoria had an exhibition, Images of Power, featuring the four main art producing areas of the Kimberley, it was a comprehensive display of modern works.


The four art producing areas of the Kimberley are:


Warmun, Turkey Creek area, south of Kununurra with artists such as Rover Thomas, Jack Britten, Freddy Timms, Queenie McKenzie, Henry Wambiny, Hector Jandany, Paddy Jaminji. The paintings, all done in ochres, depicted the countryside, historical happenings and places of great spiritual significance.

Going northwest, the towns of Derby and Kalumburu is the traditional home of the Wandjina the creator spirit, the cave paintings of these sacred spirits have been there for over 40,000 years. Some of the Wandjina painters are David Mowaljarlai, Jangarra and Karedada family, Jack Wheera

Balgo Hills on the edges of the Tanami and Great Sandy deserts has some of the wildest artworks around. The artists use acrylic paint in a variety of hues, large areas of colour and patterns weave their way over the canvas telling stories of the country in the most vibrant way possible. Artists such as Helicopter, Eubena Nampitjin, Bai Bai Napangarti, Millie Skeen and Boxer Milner and many more paint in vivid pinks, yellows, blue and greens.

Art from Fitzroy Crossing, on the Fitzroy River, is different again. Their paintings are also wild and seem, at times, quite undisciplined. Watercolour paints are used on paper and they generally depict trees, animals, plants and land forms in a very abstract manner. Big and bold they show a great joy for their painting and a love for the land and the animals that live there.
Some of the artist from this area are, Daisy Andrews, Peanut Ford, Paji Honeychild, Dolly Snell