Wandjina & Ungud
The Wandjina is the creator spirit that belongs to us (the Wororra, Ngarinyin and Wunumbul people). He is the one that created everything, he also gave us our culture, law and songs and even the dreaming of each child before they are born.
The Ungud Snake was the chosen animal in helping with the creation of mother earth, creating rivers, gorges, stream's and helped with the formation of the earth. Still today it lives in these dark deep water hole's in our country which doesn't want to be disturbed.
- Etching, framed by Don Whyte
- Dimensions: 50 x 32cm (unframed), 74.5cm x 54.4cm (framed)
- Cat No. 23-0095-10/30
Gordon Barunga is a senior cultural advisor and the last remaining Woddorddaa man painting the Wandjina. He was born in Derby in 1961, and grew up at Mowanjum Community, 10kms south of Derby in the West Kimberley of Western Australia. He is the youngest son of well-known and very respected Kimberley leader Albert Barunga [dec] and painter Pudja Barunga [dec].
Gordon has worked at a number of Kimberley stations, including Pantijan, and Christmas Creek, and worked at One Arm Point, before starting to paint. Gordon’s mother was from the Wunumbul people, and he was very close to her, being the youngest boy. His father passed away when he was young, so Pudja raised him. His strong connection to his parent’s countries is reflected in his painting.
Gordon paints the sites he visited as a child, and the stories he was told as a young boy. He loves to paint Pantijan country, as he lived there for some time, and it was special to his mother. Gordon remembers the old people painting on boards and bark, and telling the children all of the Wandjina stories. This was very important as the Worrorra had been moved off their traditional lands in the 1950s and located at two separate sites prior to sellling at Mowanjum.
Gordon primarily paints with acrylic but also uses ochre. His work is typified by fine brushstrokes, indicating the rain falling as a result of the power of the Wandjina, and is equally sensitive and strong, reflecting the deep beliefs inherited from his family.
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.
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