"Wandjina", by Watti Karrarrwarra

Watti Karrarrwarra was one of the first cohort of artists to depict their Wandjina as an artform. There had been great reticence by elders to do so, fearing the consequences of representing the powerful Wandjina. A Wunambal elder, Wattie spent some time in Wyndham gaol, where he learnt to paint, and then came to Mowanjum where his uncle taught him to paint Wandjina. His Wanjina are typically from the inland, framed by fanned headdresses and have rounded bodies. Wattie emerged as an artist in the 1970s and this coloured drawing is one of the repatriated objects returned to the Mowanjum community. It is now in the Dolord Mindi collection.