QUEENIE MCKENZIE NAKARA - JEWIDJGUNNING (BOWER BIRD DREAMING)
QUEENIE MCKENZIE NAKARA(c.1930 - 1998)
JEWIDJGUNNING (BOWER BIRD DREAMING), 1997
61.5 x 75.5 cm (image); 75 x 105 cm (paper)
serigraph
REGION
Kimberley, WA
PROVENANCE
Printer / Publisher: Rousel Screenprints, Sydney, NSW
Printer: Theo Tremblay (master printer)
Published by: Rousel Screenprints, in association with Narrangunny Art, Kununurra, WA
Narrangunny Arts, WA Cat No. QM/AP
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Narrangunny Art
STORY
In Jewidjgunning (Bower Bird Dreaming), Queenie McKenzie turns her deep connection to Country into a lyrical celebration of movement, place, and ancestral story. The work centres on the sacred breeding ground of the bower bird, a site alive with ritual and memory, nestled within the dramatic folds of the Kimberley landscape. At its heart lies the nest, encircled by a rhythmic constellation of bird tracks and scratchings that pulse with the energy of life and renewal.
On either side, Queenie’s signature contouring of Country takes on a human presence: two hills rise like dancers in corroboree, their curved forms bending forward, arms outstretched as wings. They embody the Bower Bird dance, a gesture of harmony between spirit, animal, and land. At the base of the composition, a distinct triangular form signifies Banana Springs, a place of deep personal resonance for the artist, linking the physical terrain to her lived and inherited experiences.
Through bold, simplified forms and a refined balance of line, space, and natural rhythm, Queenie fuses mapping and memory. Her work is at once a record of Country and a visual songline, a way of holding and transmitting knowledge across generations. Jewidjgunning distils the essence of her practice: the seamless merging of story, ceremony, and landscape into a single, enduring vision of home.
EXHIBITED
Paper Country, A curated exhibition of prints and paintings on paper, October 2025, Cooee Art Leven, NSW
ARTIST PROFILE
