Wandjina & the Wunggurr: Dreamtime creators of the land & water: An Exhibition by Clarrie Djanghara

“I want to share the Wandjina stories passed from father to son from the Dreamtime of the three tribes of the Wunambal, Ngaranyin and Worrora people. My stories come from my father’s people from the Wunambal homelands. My country is Gural country- which means White Cockatoo.

Don’t be afraid of the images because they are very powerful. They are powerful because they have been handed down from the Wandjina himself.
The Wandjina brings the seasons because he is the rainmaker. He forms the cyclones, rains, and floods. When people do wrong by culture, he gets angry and big storms form. When the culture is respected, we get a normal wet season and no big cyclones and floods.

The Wunggurr (Rainbow Serpent) helps the Wandjina to make the waterholes and rivers to hold the water for the people and animals to drink. The Wunggurr came out of the sea and crawled to make the waterway. He curled up in the land to make a deep hole. That is now called Mitchell Falls in the Kandiwal country. The Maret and Bigge Islands are our ancestral homelands. That’s where the Dreaming started,” Clarrie Djanghara.

Born in 1964 Clarrie Djanghara grew up in Kulumburu during missionary times. Clarrie is an important and valued elder in his community. His call to paint has heightened in recent years, alongside his desire to share his culture and educate the younger generation. Clarrie imbues his artworks with his wealth of generational knowledge and skill. Short St Gallery is honoured to present Wandjina & Wanggurr and invites you to view the exhibition.