LILY KARADADA - WANDJINA

 LILY KARADADA
WANDJINA,  2004
120 x 90 cm
natural earth pigments on linen
 
PROVENANCE
Kimberley, WA
Narrangunny Art Traders, W.ACooee Art Gallery, NSW 
 
STORY
It is said that the Wandjina spirit figure is the embodiment of the rain spirit and ancestor of the Wonnambal, Ngarinyin and Worrora peoples of the North West Kimberley. Wandjina figures are seen decorating the walls of caves in the plateau areas along the North Kimberley coast and are unique to this region. They are always pictured, using red ochre, from a frontal aspect, with no mouths, large black eyes and a slit or beak like nose. They are usually depicted in a veil of dots which represent the blood and water mix of man and animal. Dreamtime mythology has it that the Wandjina emerged from the clouds and will return in that form. Other versions suggest that Dumbi the owl is the model which is why it is prominent in some of the stories.
 
EXHIBITED
Lily Karadada: Wandjina Spirit, May 2014, Cooee Art GalleryLily Karadada - The last of the great Wandjina painters, April 2011, Coo-ee Art Gallery