Warmun Paintings

Warmun

Warmun community at Turkey Creek in the East Kimberley in the far north west of Western Australia, is situated on the site of the old telegraph station and was once a stopover for camel trains moving through the North West carrying provisions to stations and communities. Many Aboriginal people moved to Turkey Creek as the settlement is located on the edge of a number of cattle stations where many of the men and women had worked for most of their lives.

It was at Warmun in 1975 that Rover Thomas and Paddy Jaminji began the artistic collaboration that was to become the model for contemporary Aboriginal art in the east Kimberley. A ceremony was revealed to Rover Thomas through a series of dreams or visions of a spirit’s journey after death. This Dreaming forms the basis of the Kuril Kuril ceremony. The paintings illustrating the Kuril Kuril journey gave form to the modern Indigelnous art style at Turkey Creek – the style is simple and uncluttered, painted with natural ochre, with shapes being defined by rows of white dots.

Warmun is Gija (Kitja) country, and Gija Aboriginal artists have followed the example of Rover Thomas and Paddy Jaminji in depicting topographical maps in broad ochre areas mixed with various forms of fixative, including locally gathered gum from eucalyptus trees called bloodwoods. The work of the Warmun artists draws on the Ngarrangkarni or Creation period, a concept referred to in many areas of Australia as the Dreaming. Aboriginal art from the Warmun region glows in the natural ochre hues, and serves to confirm the vibrancy of this ancient and evolving culture.