Acrylic on paper

Signed certificate of authenticity.

Jeremiah has painted kinga, the saltwater crocodile, and burd, the freshwater bream. Kinga, the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is a highly respected and feared animal, associated with many Dreaming sites in Arnhem Land. In the past it was also hunted for food. Kinga can travel in salt water or fresh water, and often travel long distances between river systems. They make their nests in the long grass or forest areas close to rivers, billabongs and water holes. These are piles of mud and vegetation where they lay their eggs. They are very aggressive around their nests. Kinga are often depicted alongside their prey such as namarnkol (barramundi) and burd (bream).

Kunwinjku art/ Injalak artists:
Kunwinjku art is part of the oldest continuous art tradition in the world. Ancestors of today’s artists have been painting the rock walls of West Arnhem Land for tens of thousands of years. The traditional palette of white, red, yellow and black comes from the ochre that naturally occurs in the region, although contemporary artists sometimes choose to paint in acrylics as well. Kunwinjku artists famously paint using either the traditional rarrk hatching technique, or the more contemporary and complex cross hatching technique which has been adapted from ceremonial painting. These lines are painted using a manyilk, which is a piece of sedge grass shaved down until only a few fibres remain.
Artists at Injalak Art Centre have been painting on Arches 640gsm handmade watercolour paper since it was introduced as a medium by American art collecter John W. Klunge in 1990 when he commissioned a suite of paintings for the Kluge-Ruhe Collection at the University of Virginia, USA. It is archival quality and has an organic texture that mimics the natural surface of bark, making it an excellent alternative in West Arnhem Land where trees suitable for bark harvesting are much sparser than other areas of the Top End of Australia.

Nawu kinga nakka nabang mayh, minj karrikilekme karriborrkbun wardi kanbaye kanbun karridowen. Karriwern karrikengeme bininj dja mayh warridj dja bu korroko nahni mayh kinga birringuni dja Djang warridj ngadberre kadjangdi kore kubolkwern kunred ngadberre. Kinga nungan mayh kayawan kangun kare kore kurrula dja kare kore kubowinjku kukku. Kinga karedmarnbun kore kungarre kurralk kore kukku darnkih djengkeh kamarnbun wanjh wirllarrk kawirllarkngukdeng dja darnkih kayiyo nawu wirllarrk. Bu ngiredyikan darnkih kore wirllarrk kahyo nuye wanjh ngunbaye ngunbun.