My painting depicts the Gunga, a woven Pandanus Mat.
I learnt how to weave by my mother. She taught me how to make baskets from pandanus using the coiling technique. I learnt how make string bags, dilly bags and woven mats during a workshop for junior rangers.
I’ve been mostly a weaver but now trying painting. We might have a go at weaving in Wujal Wujal.
Kubal is the Kuku-Yalanji word for Brolga.
This painting is about the dancing kubal, she likes to dance around the waterways. The dancing brolga has a long tapering beak and long, slender legs. I love the way how the brolga dances around in circles.
I am a Ngkugkul woman from Shipton’s Flat, my mother’s Country. My dad was a Kaanju man from the Coen area.
When I was about 14 years old I started painting bulnja (owls). I was still at school. I liked looking at bulnja in the rainforest. I liked their colours and patterns in the feathers. They are really good at camouflage and you need good eyes to see them! You can find the bulnja when they sing out. It’s a funny noise! Bulnja eat little insects, lizards and mice that live in the rainforest. The bulnja have important story but I can’t talk about it.
I painted bulnja because they live in the rainforest. They live up in the trees. It’s the only place you can see them around here. The rainforest, its plants, trees and animals means a lot to me.
Our bubu (country) is like a storybook. Baral (tracks) tell you what animal is travelling around. Some of the tracks we see are from the kurriyala (snake), walkarr (lizard) and kadar (wallaby). We can track the animals we hunt by following their tracks. The waybala (whitefella) has bought new tracks into our country, shoes and mudaka (motorcar) and plenty of bulki (cattle).
I’m painting the bird and animal tracks you find on the beach. You can see them going this way and that way. Everywhere!
Our bubu (country) is like a storybook. Baral (tracks) tell you what animal is travelling around. Some of the tracks we see are from the kurriyala (snake), walkarr (lizard) and kadar (wallaby). We can track the animals we hunt by following their tracks. The waybala (whitefella) has bought new tracks into our country, shoes and mudaka (motorcar) and plenty of bulki (cattle).
I’m painting the bird and animal tracks you find on the beach. You can see them going this way and that way. Everywhere!
Kubal is the Kuku-Yalanji word for Brolga.
This painting is about the dancing kubal, she likes to dance around the waterways. The dancing brolga has a long tapering beak and long, slender legs. I love the way how the brolga dances around in circles.
Kubal is the Kuku-Yalanji word for Brolga.
This painting is about the dancing kubal, she likes to dance around the waterways. The dancing brolga has a long tapering beak and long, slender legs. I love the way how the brolga dances around in circles.
I’ve painted yindili (kingfisher). There are three types of Kingfisher that live around Wujal Wujal. They live in the rainforest and along the coastal areas. Yindili is a beautiful bird and very quick! Their feathers are like jewels. You see them flying quickly, darting around. Their colours flash by, you need to be quick to see them!
Our football team is named Wujal Wujal Yindili. Yindili is sacred to us Bama.
I am a Ngkugkul woman from Shipton’s Flat, my mother’s Country. My dad was a Kaanju man from the Coen area.
When I was about 14 years old I started painting bulnja (owls). I was still at school. I liked looking at bulnja in the rainforest. I liked their colours and patterns in the feathers. They are really good at camouflage and you need good eyes to see them! You can find the bulnja when they sing out. It’s a funny noise! Bulnja eat little insects, lizards and mice that live in the rainforest. The bulnja have important story but I can’t talk about it.
I painted bulnja because they live in the rainforest. They live up in the trees. It’s the only place you can see them around here. The rainforest, its plants, trees and animals means a lot to me.
Anne Nunn is Nyungul woman. Her paintings depict cultural, historic and contemporary stories from her Country, the Helensvale and Shipton’s Flat area in Far North Queensland.
“My painting depicts the plants and animals that live and grow around my bubu (country). I love going out bush and am especially inspired by the wetland dikal (birds) like the kubal (brolga) that live in the walngka (swamp grasses) and kababina (water lilies)”.