Ju Ju Wilson / Waterholes (9B)

Ju Ju was born at Mantinea Flats in the East Kimberley and was educated at Beagle Bay.  She is of the Miriuwung Gajerrong group and her Aboriginal name is Burriwee – but to everyone she is “Ju Ju”.  She is a mother of six, tour guide, much sought after cultural advisor, expert in bush tucker, bush medicines and advisor to those publishing books on these subjects.  Ju Ju has made numerous appearances on television regarding these topics including the 2008 BBC documentary “Ray Mears Goes Walkabout”.  Ju Ju is a renowned didgeridoo maker, both carves and paints boomerangs and is an authority on rock art and sacred sites and speaks five dialects fluently.

Ju Ju is a member of a well known painting family – her late grandmother Sheba and mother Freda were also artists –three generations of very talented ladies. Ju Ju’s son and grandchildren also now paint so we have many generations of Wilson artists to look forward to in the future.

Her paintings and artefacts are collected world-wide.  In 2003 Ju Ju was asked to paint trophies for the Dubai Racing Club, home of the World’s Richest Race Meeting, featuring Australian Indigenous Animals.

Ju Ju has participated in printmaking, and a lithograph described as “c. 1996 printed in red ochre, from one stone” depicting a “boab tree and mountains” was acquired by the National Gallery of Australia, from Franck Gohier (the printer of the work), Darwin, celebrating the National Gallery of Australia’s 25th anniversary, 2007.

Ju Ju favours detailed subject matter in fine palette ochre – and because of her family connections, the content of her paintings range from the land around Kununurra to Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) and the incredible rock art found in the East Kimberley region.

I have painted waterholes in my country – to the north of Mantinea Flats near Kununurra, Western Australia. The flatlands have plenty of waterholes and after the wet, they fill right up. The waterholes are all different colours, just depends on what’s underneath them. Some are very salty because all this country used to be under seawater long time ago – they’re the white ones. The black, they’ve still got a bit of water in them but no good to drink. The yellow coloured ones are where the good water is, bit of sand but water ok. This is a really good place for animals and bush tucker most of the year, and my mother and grandmother used to walk all around and lived off this land.