WEST KIMBERLEY PLACE REPORT - Department of Sustainability ...

The other well known painted images in the study area are the Gwion Gwion (also
known as Gyorn Gyorn, Giro Giro, Kuyon, Kiera-Kirow – Norval and Shiel 1999;
Welch 2007, Girrigorro – Blundell et al. 2009). These diminutive, elegant figures
have captured the wider population's imagination with their stylistic and enigmatic
accoutrements including elaborate head-dresses, bangles, tassels, sashes, bags and
weapons (Donaldson 2007). The more spectacular Gwion Gwion sites are large panels
with many lithe figures painted in fine detail that '…sort of float on the roof of the
cave' (Donaldson 2007, 15). They are typically painted in a single colour which
depending on the individual site ranges in hue from red to mulberry purple and orange
brown (Donaldson 2007).
While the Wanjina and Gwion Gwion images are the most well known rock paintings
in the study area, there are many other beautiful and unusual images painted on rock
surfaces across the region, including the Napier and Oscar Ranges, that provide
important evidence of the movement of people and ideas between the coast, the
hinterland and the desert country (Playford 2007).
Stylistically, the Gwion Gwion figures are similar to the Mimi or Dynamic figures of
the Kakadu region and West Arnhem Land (Schultz 1956; Berndt and Berndt 1964;
Crawford 1968; Chaloupka 1988; Ryan and Akerman 1993b – cited by Blundell et al.
2009; Lewis 1988, 1997; Morwood 2002; Welch 2007). Lewis (1988) hypothesised
that the Kimberley and Arnhem Land were once part of a single late Pleistocene/early
Holocene information network which led to the styles in each region sharing similar
attributes, though having a regionally distinctive character. Both the Gwion
Gwion/Girrigirro and Mimi figures are often depicted with large headdresses with
arm decorations carrying boomerangs and multi-barbed spears.
The Gwion Gwion / Girrigirro figures are found in Wanjina-Wunggurr and Balanggarra
country. Unlike the Wanjina-Wunggurr community, Balanggarra people do not
consider that the paintings were 'put there' by spirit beings during the Dreaming.
Instead, they believe that the Gwion Gwion/Girrigirro paintings were produced by
their own human ancestors and that they depict aspects of their everyday life
So while the Gwion Gwion/Girrigirro images may represent a pan-northern Australia
tradition, the striking image of the Wanjina is found nowhere else. Images of Wanjina
and Gwion Gwion have become widely recognised across Australia. They are
featured in the broadcast and print media and in travel advertisements used to promote
the Kimberley region for national and international tourism. The use of the Wanjina
Namarali as an iconic image of the Australian nation in a dramatic moment at the
opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games was viewed by millions in Australia
and around the world (Blundell et al. 2009).
The 'X-ray' rock art of the Kakadu region and West Arnhem Land region depicting
naturalistic images of animal species showing their internal organs is probably the
only other painting style in Australia that is on par with the Wanjina images in terms
of national recognition. However, there is no single iconic 'X-ray' entity, nor do the
Mimi figures of the Kakadu and West Arnhem Land region figure as prominently in
the Australian imagination as the elegant, finely executed Gwion Gwion/Girrigirro.
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