>Kimberley
Country ochre on Canvas, .
122 x 89 cm (48.0 x 35.0 ins)
The artists of The
Kimberley region of Australia look beneath the surface of the country
to the bones, or structure, which determines the compositional rhythm
of their world.
This is hill country, dense with spiritual associations, which fill the
artists' eye and mind.
Goorlabal, the Rainbow Snake, moved through Lagawoony country in the ancestral
period. His skin patterning is reflected in the terrain, which he created,
travelled through and metamorphosed into, and which bears his sacred iconography.
The snake has become the river, and the tributaries of the river - visible
as arboreal forms into the air - echo the ribs of the snake.
The paintings are created from a mixture of pigments and a natural binder.
Pigment variations in tone and texture reflect the topography - charcoal
suggests fire and burnt-out land; red ochre is the colour of desert country
and the dust storms. The pigments are mined by the artists and in some
cases remarkable colours are achieved. Queenie McKenzie regularly used
pink and purple ochre which she mined herself.