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Wirrawirrdul – Eileen Bray Joomena

ileen has painted the Wirrawirrdul, Wirrawirrdul is the Kija name known for mermaid, she was told a story by an elder women of the community and was also known to be Patrick Mung’s sister – her name was Buttercup Mung. Buttercup told Eileen that she once heard noises and splashing within the junction area of the creek, when she went to investigate she had seen a women with half a fish’s tail and the other was human, She was very beautiful and pale – sit-in on the banks of the creek. When the mermaid had noticed that she had been seen, she quickly then jumped back into the water and disappeared.

Categories: WARMUN ART

Name: Eileen Bray Joomena


Language: English, Gija, Kriol


Community: Warmun


Biography:

Eileen Bray Joomena is a very well-respected language teacher and translator in Warmun Community and is an emerging artist at Warmun Art Centre. She has been involved with the Gija language program at the Ngalangangpum community school in Warmun and IATSIS project with Melbourne Univeristy for many years and has has assisted with many publications that have involved Warmun and Gija language, including the Co-author of the recently published Gija Dictionary. With her keen grasp of both Gija and English and her lively personality Joomoon is seen by many as a pivotal figure and bridge between two worlds.
Joomoon takes her traditional country, Birnuwun (Alice Downs) and its Ngarrangkarni (Dreaming) stories as the subject of her work, most recently drawing on the story of her birth and Ngaginyji Joomooloony; 'My boab tree'.


© the artist / art centre