Jack Dale

The Wandjinas are the creators of Wungud places and life. Jack Dale paints the Wandjina spirits of his country near Iminji in the West Kimberley. They enshrine the Dreamings that underpin the re-creation beliefs in Ngarinyin culture. The vertical lines running down the sides of the Wandjinas indicate male Wandjinas who have been fully initiated through Ceremony. The following story of Baby Dreaming is central to Jack’s beliefs. ‘Young babies wait in the sea at the mouth of the river, waiting for high tide which will take them upstream to a place called Wuni-Ari – the Wungud sacred waterhole. The babies will swim around looking for a mother and father. If they are found they are so happy, if not they will wait once again for the tide to take them back to the sea. The process is repeated until they are adopted. Wungud is a place a woman will go to dream about babies’.