Wandjina spirit

Charlie Numbulmoore grew up on a cattle station in his northwest Kimberley homeland in Western Australia. As a senior Ngarinyin man, he held responsibility for maintaining rock art in his Country, in particular repainting the depictions of wandjina spirit beings – an act of observance associated with the onset of wet season rains. Late in his life, from the mid1960s, he began to paint on transportable mediums, such as bark or board.

Wandjina spirit impressively presents the potency of both the artist and his subject. In Numbulmoore’s unique vision, the wandjina is rendered with large round eyes, fringed by delicate lashes that suggest an omniscient energy. From its neck hangs a pearl-shell pendant, which is associated with rainmaking. A ‘halo’, representing cloud and lightning, radiates around its head, dramatically conveying both a spiritual might and the enveloping power of a looming wet season storm.

Barry Patton, Tarnanthi Writer & Researcher