Windjana Spirit & Norval Gallery, Derby

This morning, Jen has the privilege of sitting in on a kindy class at School of the Air. The teacher name is Clare and the kids had logged in to school from Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary, Jubilee Downs and others that are travelling around Australia. The Kimberley School of the Air is one of five in Western Australia and has 32 kids enrolled from 4-12 years of age.

I grab my morning coffee and meet Jen afterwards and we walk a couple of kilometres to visit the Morval Art Gallery, a gallery that showcases indigenous artist and art from the Kimberley region. Mark Morval is a white folk and he set the gallery up after teaching art at the Mowanjum Art Centre in Derby. The inspiration behind the gallery was to not only showcase his own art but use the gallery as a creative meeting place and workshop for local Aboriginal artists.

The sunset sculpture we enjoyed last night is a Norval creation and Mark seems to depict the same Aboriginal faces in many different ways through his artwork.

When we arrive at the gallery, a number of local Wandjina artists are busy working on their art pieces on outside tables which have been covered with colourful paint over time.

The gallery has a great variety of work on display and for sale, any proceeds of which will benefit the local Aboriginal Artist.

Not one to be overly enthused about Aboriginal art, this gallery captured my imagination as all the art work depicts stories from the Wandjina and the Kimberley region and follows in story, our journey across this sun burnt spiritual land.

In particular, the artwork depicts many of the stories and symbols that we saw preserved as cave or rock art drawings back at Munurru, King Edward River which is thousands of years old.

Wandjinas are spirit beings recognised by three indigenous groups, Ngarinyin, Worora and Wunumbal. They look like aliens and the slit between their eyes is where the Windjana pushes his power down. The belief system remains the world’s oldest still practiced religion at approx 8.000 years old. The father of all Wandjinas is Idjair who lives inside the head of the great emu spirit in the Milky Way just above the Southern Cross. I think we will look for him tonight.Читать далее