ARTWORKS FOR XMAS: 2K AND UNDER
Forthcoming viewing_room
Veronica Djanghara Australian, Wunambal, b. 1961
Wandjina & Gwion Gwion, 2020
natural pigment on canvas
45 x 45 cm
841267
'A long time ago our people believed that Wanjina was a god to them, the Wanjina is a protector of the land and the sea and the Bradshaws (Gwion) are...
"A long time ago our people believed that Wanjina was a god to them, the Wanjina is a protector of the land and the sea and the Bradshaws (Gwion) are the helpers of the Wanjina." The Wandjina are ancestral spirits who created country, people and animals in the North West Kimberly before turning themselves into rock paintings. They are sometimes called “lightning man” or “rain maker” and every year they replenish water holes, creeks and rivers through making the wet season. The Wandjina can be vengeful if people break the law, by making savage storms and cyclones. The predominant white colouring and shape of the Wandjina’s body represent water and clouds which are sometimes offset by the use of a red pigment, representing blood that shows us that the Wandjina are partly alive.