Description
This painting represents the waters at Miliway, the artist’s Wobulkarra country, where a channel of water passes between Ḻaŋarra (Howard Island) and the mainland. Here freshwater and saltwater meet each other.
The artist explains “they ask each other ‘hey, where are you from? what are you called?’ – the saltwater says he is called rambala, and the freshwater banji. Miliway is a big creek – where it splits in two, like its been cut by scissors.
The single feature of this painting is raŋ, the white caps and bubbles of the rough waters at Miliway, which can be represented by both white cross-hatching and colours flowing lines. Raŋ belongs to the Dhuwa clan Dhalnyirr. Wobulkarra people, being Yirritja, relate to raŋ as mother. This raŋ is depicted in many of the Wobulkarra clan designs painted by the artist, including in a yothu-yindi design, representing Dhuwa and Yirritja waters, and other traditional designs about Dhukururru (sacred rock).
