Viewing Wandjina art in the Kimberley

With their large dark eyes, distinctive halo-like heads and usually mouthless faces, Wandjina figures appear on rock walls and in caves across the Kimberley. For visitors travelling through the region, encountering one can be an unforgettable experience — but these paintings are much more than artworks; they are part of a living cultural tradition that continues today.

Who are the Wandjina?

Wandjina are ancestral creator beings associated particularly with the Wanjina-Wunggurr peoples of the northern and central Kimberley. They are deeply connected with Country, water, rain, fertility and the seasonal cycles that sustain life. According to Wanjina-Wunggurr cultural traditions, the Wandjina travelled across the landscape during the creation period, shaping Country as they went. Their presence is represented in rock art, landscape features and other cultural sites across the region.

What do Wandjina look like?

Wandjina figures have a very distinctive appearance. They are generally shown with:

• Large, round black eyes
• Little or no mouth
• A large, rounded head
• A halo or radiating lines around the head
• White, red, yellow and black ochre pigments

The radiating lines around the head are associated with elements such as clouds, lightning and ceremonial head decorations. Some figures are also shown with lines extending downwards from the body, representing falling rain. Their appearance can vary considerably between sites and artists, however, and it is important not to think of Wandjina paintings as a single uniform style.

Where can you find Wandjina art?

Wandjina rock art occurs predominantly through the central and northern Kimberley, within the traditional Countries of Indigenous groups including the Ngarinyin, Worrorra and Wunambal Gaambera peoples.

Some of the most spectacular examples are found in remote rock shelters, gorges and caves — places that can only be reached by boat, four-wheel drive, helicopter or on foot. This is one reason a Kimberley expedition can offer such a different experience from simply visiting a conventional art gallery. The paintings remain within the landscape with which they are intrinsically connected. The Wilinggin region, for example, is part of the broader Wanjina-Wunggurr cultural bloc and encompasses an enormous area of the central and northern Kimberley.

Wandjina and the Kimberley wet season

The Kimberley has an extraordinary wet season, when enormous thunderstorms sweep across the region and rivers and waterfalls suddenly come alive. Rain is essential to the plants, animals and people here. Wandjina are closely associated with this life-giving water and with the seasonal cycle. In some traditions, maintaining and repainting Wandjina images is connected with renewing their power and the arrival of the rains. This gives the paintings a significance that is very different from viewing a static archaeological artefact. They form part of an ongoing relationship between people, ancestors, Country and the seasons.

Wandjina are not the same as Gwion Gwion/Bradshaws

If you have travelled through the Kimberley, you may also have heard of Gwion Gwion/Bradshaw art, sometimes called Bradshaw figures. Gwion figures are generally depicted as elegant, slender human-like figures, often wearing elaborate ornaments or carrying objects. Wandjina, by contrast, are much more recognisable for their large heads, prominent eyes and halo-like surrounds.

The paintings are still cared for today

Traditional Owners have continued to care for and, where culturally appropriate, repaint Wandjina images. This practice maintains the connection between the ancestral beings, the paintings and Country. Ngarinyin artist Charlie Numbulmoore, for example, held responsibility for maintaining Wandjina rock art in his Country. Later in life, he began creating Wandjina paintings on portable materials such as bark and board, bringing an ancient cultural tradition into a contemporary artistic context. Today, Wandjina imagery continues to inspire artists working across the Kimberley and beyond, including paintings on bark, canvas and other materials.