Willie Nabulwad
16 1/8 x 24 1/8 in
Willie has painted Kunkurra Djang (Wind Dreaming) from his country in the Kardbam clan estates near the Liverpool River in West Arnhem Land. The artist uses intense, intricate but flowing line work to show the movement of wind. The painting relays the powerful winds that are generated in this region particularly in the monsoonal wet season from November. Kunkurra also refers to a site called Bilwoyinj, near Mankorlod, which is the artists clan estate. Here, Nakorrko, father and son creator beings, resided. Nakorrko hunted and ate goanna. Some of the goanna fat they left behind transformed into a sacred rock that can still be seen today. Bilwoyinj refers to goanna fat but is also a sacred ground for the Yabburdurrwa ceremony. It is an important ceremony that includes initiation, land ownership and the cyclical regeneration of the human and natural worlds.