Wandjina (Cloud & Rain Spirit)
The Wandjina spirits are highly respected by the Worrora, Ngarinyin and Wanumbul people who live at Mowanjum and up the Gibb River Road to Kalumburru in the Northwest Kimberley of Australia.
The Wandjina gave the law and the culture to the people to abide by, these customs are still carried on today. The Ungud helped the Wandjina in creation of the land, creating rivers, lakes, gorges, waterholes & billabongs. The Wali are our food source that our ancestors have hunted for thousands of years.
- Etching, framed by Don Whyte
- 74.5cm x 54.5cm (framed size)
- Cat No. 24-0212-25/50
As well as having two major Kimberley painters (now deceased) as grandparents – Nyunkuny Paddy Bedford on her father’s side and Jack Dale Mengenen on her mother’s - Petrina has established herself as a dedicated artist in her own right.
The oldest of seven girls, Petrina has Gija affiliations on her father’s side and Ngarinyin on her mother’s and lives at Imintji community, 230 km east of Derby along the Gibb River Road.
Petrina first exhibited paintings at a commercial gallery in Perth at age twelve, when three of her canvases were hung alongside the work of her maternal grandfather, who she was exceptionally close to. Petrina uses her own style when painting, but the subjects she turns to are similar to her grandfather’s; Wandjina and classical stories relevant to her family.
Text from, 'Mowanjum Daytrip,' August 2015, by Philippa Jahn, Desert River Sea, Art Gallery of WA
The Mowanjum Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre is a creative hub for the Worrorra, Ngarinyin and Wunumbal tribes, who make up the Mowanjum community outside Derby, Western Australia. These three language groups are united by their belief in the Wandjina as a sacred spiritual force and the creators of the land. They are the custodians of Wandjina law and iconography. The centre hosts exhibitions, workshops and community projects, as well as the annual Mowanjum Festival, one of Australia's longest running indigenous cultural festivals.
Laundry Gallery is currently closed for the holidays. All online orders will be processed and shipped after 25 January, 2025. Local pick up may be available earlier, please contact us to request.
We pack all artworks securely to protect during shipping. Items valued over $100 are insured for damage during transit. Artworks less then one metre are generally sent insured via Australia Post, unless they are particularly fragile. Artworks longer than one metre are sent via Pack n Send.