Jack Mengenen Dale - Our Country - Gnaningun

Lot description

As one of the last of the dwindling generation of old men who possessed complete knowledge of the rituals, law, and culture of his people, Jack Dale was a vital link to the past.  A custodian of ancient stories about the land and its creation, his most compelling and mysterious works focus on the Wandjina and other important spirit beings that created the land and instituted the laws that govern human behaviour. Wandjinas are powerful fertility spirits, responsible for the life-giving monsoon rains. Jack believed that the ‘big boss’ Wandjina could rally his attendants when conflict occurred between humans. He depicted these spirits in a distinctive style: ghost like, with halos, large, dark, pool-like eyes, and without mouths, for, according to Dale, giving them a mouth would mean the heavens would open and the rain would never cease. “Whites have the bible. We have our Wandjinas. We have to go to these places else we are empty,” said Dale. These Wandjina sites, located throughout the Kimberley, are over 60,000 years old and are painted on rock overhangs, often marked by striking geological features like the Djalala or ‘marking stones’ that indicate their presence. For health reasons, Dale spent the last years of his life in the closest town, Derby. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Grand Old Man of the Kimberley', Jack was a highly respected tribal elder, both for his custodianship of Ceremonial Law and for his skill as a bushman. He came to painting late in life, after many hard-working years as a stockman. Even then, he was revered for his extensive knowledge and admired for his physical strength and determined attitude. This, he re-lived and communicated in his painting, sharing with an international audience a powerful experience of the inimitable Kimberley genius precariously balanced at the crossroads of change.