Jack Britten Gija, 1921-2002

Jack Britten was born at Tickelara in the east Kimberley in 1921. He was a senior Gija lawman.

As a boy he was taken to work as a stockman and later as a road worker. In 1982 he moved to Frog Hollow, south of Warmun Community, to help establish the Worranginy Outstation.

Jack's painting focused on his country, its origins, its ceremonies and ancestral figures.

Britten began painting early in life. His grandparents taught him to paint using traditional methods and materials.

Distinctive features of his earlier paintings include the use of garliwan (bloodwood gum), spinifex sap and kangaroo blood as binders for ochres.

Britten depicted his Dreamings with a lateral landscape perspective and gentle clusters of dome-shaped ranges representing Purnululu. He was known for his exploration of the landscape with rough textures and bold designs.

The distinctive dotting, which outlines and is embodied in the landscape forms, describes the country and evokes the presence of ancestors and ceremonies.

Britten passed away in 2002.

Medium

Natural ochre on canvas

Themes

Bedford Downs Station country

Purnululu, limestone hills and jump ups

Country near the headwaters of the Ord River

Woorreranginy (Frog Hollow) area

Traditional Gija Ngarrangkarni (Dreaming) stories

Ribbon stone country near Kununurra

Station life

Corroborees for Han Spring & Jarlalun country

Body designs painted during ceremony