Title: My Country - Garawa Land
Artist: Edwin
Age: 14 years old
My painting is all about my home- Garawa Country around Borroloola, NT. My painting shows dry season animals, goanna, brown snake and Murndangu (Long Neck Turtle) and their eggs. I also painted plants - Dumbuyumbu (Sandalwood) and Kulbanyi (Paperbark Tea-Tree Wattle) both used to make traditional bush medicine for my family and community as well as Turkey Bush flowers that show in the dry season. The flowering wattle means that the goanna and other animals are fat and good for hunting. I painted the dry lagoon near my home of Wandangula Outstation, the McArthur River and other rivers around Borroloola. I used purple (my tribe colours) and white ochre (Marrkirra) colours that are used for ceremony and festival time. I painted Ngabaya (Spirit Man) fingers at the bottom as that is my traditional paint up style. I also painted dark red, black and yellow/brown behind my painting to show Garawa Land - Always was, always will be my home, culture, my identity, my country.