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Published by CompNet Systems on

Kirriwirri

“This place is where my family is from, the Great Sandy Desert. My Mum’s family side. It’s a painting about Kirriwirri—north of Punmu—it’s Kulyukartu Country, my Great Grandmother’s Country. My mum, for mum, for Country and her family. Through stories, I learned to paint this soak (natural spring). I want to go there one day, maybe with KJ (Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa Rangers). I’ve been in other places in Kulyukartu, but not that one. I learned how to paint this place from my old people there. I saw my grandfather (Wokka Taylor) paint, and I started doing his painting (his style). He gave me permission, and that’s why I paint this way. When I paint, I think about my families—the old people. This painting I call Kirriwirri, that’s the soak.”
— Wilson Junior Mandijalu

Kirriwirri near well 33 on the Canning stock route in the Great Sandy Desert.

Categories: Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community LaGrange Inc

Name: Wilson Mandijalu-Jadai

Language: Yilparija

Community: Bidyadanga

Biography:

Wilson lives in Bidyadanga and learnt his style of painting from his old people who paint their family's country in th

Wilson Junior-Mandijalu was born in Broome but has spent most of his life in Bidyadanga, where the Great Sandy Desert meets the sea. His family comes from Kulyukartu, his grandmother’s Country near the Percival Lakes in the Great Sandy Desert. Mandijalu is part of the Martu diaspora, whose families relocated to Bidyadanga in the 1960s and 70s due to a prolonged drought that dried out many of the underground water systems in the desert. His grandmother moved northwest to the saltwater Country of Bidyadanga, while her brothers and sister—Muuki Taylor, Wokka Taylor (dec.), and Nyalangka Nola Taylor—traveled south to Jigalong before settling in Parnngurr.

Mandijalu first visited Kulyukartu when his family gained Native Title over the land. The experience left a deep impact on him, saying he “didn’t want to leave that place.” His journey as an artist began in 2021 during a stay in Parnngurr, where he watched his grandparents and other senior artists painting. Inspired by their work, he started painting his own Country, focusing on the desert landscapes of Kulyukartu.

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