Warlawoon Country - Home of Rammey Ramsey

REDOT FINE ART GALLERY in collaboration with Warmun Art Centre presents

Warlawoon Country Home of Rammey Ramsey

A Collection of Jirrawun Indigenous Art

15 April – 30 June 2019

Online Exhibition

For a high resolution, downloadable, PDF version of this catalogue, with pricing, please send us an email to info@redotgallery.com Thank you.

c o n t e m p o r a r y

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Warlawoon Country - Home of Rammey Ramsey The Warmun Art Centre, and to that end the now defunct Jirrawun Art Centre, were and remain a hot bed of everything that is strong and positive about modern Indigenous culture.

The focal point of a community, often representing remote and marginalised people, art centres are a place where one can meet, exchange ideas, while away a few hours, feel as if you belong, have a cup of tea amongst many other things and should the mood take you, produce artwork to reconnect you to country.

Over the last 40 years, the sacred country of the Gija people, through these community art centres, have nurtured some of the art movements most significant protagonists.

The likes of Rover Thomas, Queenie Mckenzie, Paddy Bedford, George Mung Mung, Lena Nyadbi, to name but a handful, roll from the tongue, and a more impressive list would be hard to imagine.

These masters of the ochre painting movement, this Contemporary Australian art renaissance, have set records at auctions and standards for the rest of the desert art movement to emulate, and it is as strong today as it has ever been. These were artists that inspired greats such as Tony Tuckson and Fred Williams, they were not occasional artists, they were, are, bona fide greats that one day will hold a place alongside the International masters of this art genre.

The works of these seminal artists adorn the collections of every major institutional and private collection in Australia and have over the years also translated into public works as far afield as Paris, France, on building edifices to be enjoyed and admired by millions and for millennia.

This painting movement, cultured and nurtured under the tutelage of Tony Oliver, the art coordinator at the time of the establishment of the Jirrawun Art Centre, parallels that of the Papunya Tula Board movement of 1970-1972, albeit it with a smaller group of artists, most of whom have now unfortunately left us.

Rammey Ramsey, however, remains one of the few original Jirrawun male artists still alive today, and whom is still practicing as a Warmun artist. This body of work is a collection of his oeuvre production dating from a productive and sought-after threeyear period predominately encompassing 2005 to 2008. A body of work which went into storage when the Jirrawun art centre closed and has for the past 10 or more years been unseen, but for the eyes of a few lucky recipients.

Born around 1935, Rammey is a soft, shy, affable man, who was surrounded in his early years of artistic output by the powerhouses of Rover Thomas and Paddy Bedford, artists that have gone on to become the undisputed “kings” of ochre commanding some of the most important auction prices of their Art movement.

Rammey, on my two occasions of encounter, never had the swagger of these men, or the interest to court the western dynamics at play in the 1980s. He remained a comfortable supporting actor in a very powerful “Gija” play being orchestrated by these main protagonists at the time.

However, that said, that doesn’t in any way diminish his artistic output. Rammey eagerly learnt from the masters, observing, reflecting and absorbing, yet firmly controlling his own inevitable artistic path.

Rammey was and remains an observer, he learnt about the deeper cultural requirements of his work from these elders around him while creating his own brand and imagery to compliment it.

Left Page: Rammey Ramsey - Bow River Cowboy. Rammey Ramsey talking about his art and his life.

Source: © ABC 2014

Rammey employs all the techniques of his fellow custodians of Gija culture. A painterly softness, a strong gestural hand and a confidence of application that is obvious immediately on observing any of his work. He morphed painting styles several times in the 1990s, confidently and seamlessly, switched from only natural ochre to a mix of ochre and synthetic colours to create mesmerizing topographical renditions of his ancestral home. His country, Warlawoon.

His artworks are whimsical portrayals of his country, which starts at a place called Rockybar and ends at Crocodile Gorge, which are both inside the Tablelands Pastoral lease. This area is where the East Kimberley meets the West Kimberley, and it is also important because it is where the head of the Fitzroy River occurs, within the catchment of the Chamberlain River; both vital waterways in the outback.

Rammey is currently the last remaining custodian and carer of Warlawoon Country alive today from this golden generation. This means that he is also the most senior Aboriginal authority figure for that region, which carries enormous weight and responsibility.

His artwork, be it on linen, board or paper, is always “on-mark�. He has mastered all these mediums, quietly and without major fuss and he carries the weight of this custodial responsibility effortlessly.

The closure of the Jirrawun Art Centre sent shock waves, at the time, throughout the Indigenous art world and was met with sadness and criticism from some quarters.

However, as age teaches us, every cloud invariably has a silver lining, in this instance it is a very large and significant cloud.

It is unlikely that such a significant body of work would have survived untouched and together, if the community art centre had continued. The works would have most probably been released for exhibitions and slowly placed around the world.

There is beauty in this knowledge, but there is also an equally solace in 2019 to be able to present such a spiritually powerful body of work, in its entirety, for the first time in over 10 years.

The sum of the individual works gains gravitas by their partnering with others, the safety of being in a group, amongst friends‌

We are honoured, and delighted, that Rammey and his family chose ReDot Fine Art Gallery to be entrusted with the re-release of these majestic works and re-introduce them not only to existing collectors and connoisseurs, but hopefully also to a new wave of collectors who perhaps were not active at the time Rammey was a tour de force, painting these works.

Opening an old world to a new audience is central and crucial to the longevity of Indigenous culture, and it is fitting that this work can continue that cultural requirement into a new generation.

Rammey is now an old man, reaching the twilight of his time in this realm, surrounded by family and many descendants who can only imagine what life was like when he lived traditionally on country, or when he first picked up a paint brush and started on this very specific journey in his life.

This show I hope is a fitting loop to complete a story, allowing family to celebrate a magical human being; and a very important senior elder. For the art centre an opportunity to sing about the powerful artist they manage and assist in old age, and for art lovers to get a chance to both admire and perhaps acquire stunning works of Indigenous teaching.

The works of Rover and Paddy, and many of the other masters, are by now beyond the means of many of us to own. Rammey will most probably be in that place too in the decades to come, but for now this extraordinary man is very much one of us, amongst us, and beaming with pride that we enjoy his humbling attempt to keep Gija culture alive.

Giorgio Pilla Director, ReDot Fine Art Gallery April 2019

Source: © Photo Courtesy of Warmun Art Centre

Rammey RAMSEY Birth Date Place of Birth Language Skin/Clan

1/07/1935 Old Greenvale Station English, Gija and Kriol Jungurra

Rammey Ramsey, a senior Gija man of Jungurra skin, was born on Old Greenvale Station which is now part of Bow River Station. His own country and that of his parents is a part of Gija country in an area to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. His Gija name, Warlawoon is the general name for the whole of that area of country.

Rammey Ramsey lived in Warlawoon country walking in the bush with his family when very young then moved to Bedford Downs and worked there as a young man. He spent some time working at Landsdowne Station. He then moved to Bow River Station and has lived there ever since.

These stations were adjacent to ancestral lands where traditional ceremonial activities could still be maintained. When equal pay legislation prompted pastoralists to send Aboriginal people off the land, they settled in small communities throughout the Kimberley and slowly the art movement began to take shape. Art became an essential way to stay connected with their ancient cultural heritage.

Ramsey began painting for Jirrawun Arts in 2000. He was in his mid sixties by then but his involvement in traditional ceremony had already made art-making a central part of his life.

Jirrawun Arts was a model art centre, owned and run by the artists under the guidance of Tony Oliver. Oliver’s large collection of modern art books exposed Ramsey to influences such as Paul Klee and Sonia Delaunay. The group also regularly discussed their own work, exchanging ideas and memories and techniques. Ramsey was influenced by Rover Thomas’s majestic ochres in his early work but went on to explore a more gestural style, inspired in part by his close friend Paddy Bedford. Building a wet on wet field of colour gradations, Ramsey embeds simple jewel-like shapes of vivid gouache colour. These are the distilled features of his country such as hills, meeting places, water holes, or may refer to an event, plant or animal home. Sharp contrasting or dotted lines often weave around and between, representing rivers, roads or other connecting landmarks. This is Warwaloon, an area that makes up part of Gija country and the place where Ramsey was born. It is also his traditional name.

In October 2000 his pictures were part of an exhibition with Hector Jandany, Timmy Timms and Paddy Bedford at William Mora Galleries in Melbourne called Gaagembi ‘Poor Things’. The title of that show being a word used as a term of endearment, sympathy and sorrow. It is a word used by many people to express feelings about the country that is mostly lost to them, their predecessors who walked in it freely and the way of life that is gone.

Alongside ancestral topographies, historical themes and events are often touched upon in Ramsey’s work. The Gija people suffered cruelly at the hands of the early white settlers.

Enslavement and massacre were part of that sorry tale.

Ramsey was one of the painters featured in the ‘Four Men Paintings’ exhibition at Raft Galleries in Darwin in March 2001. This was followed by a sellout show solo show at Raft during May 2001.

Rammey was a key figure in the production of the Bedford Downs massacre Joonba that was staged at the 2000 Telstra Art Award.

He is an inspired dancer who helped train the young boys in dancing. He and Rusty Peters created body painting and dance poles and danced for the Joonba performances that commemorate these events.

He was also an actor and dancer with the Neminuwarlin Performance Group in its production of Fire, Fire Burning Bright incorporating the Joonba which premiered at the Perth International Festival of the Arts in February 2002 and opened the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts at the State Theatre of Victoria from 17-20 October 2002.

Rammey Ramsey is true to his law painting only country that he has rights to through birth and family. Most of his paintings are of the stunning gorge country north west of Halls Creek in an area surrounding Elgee Cliffs. He shows the places where the Rock Wallaby live and camping areas near waterholes. The painting and the man are the essence of strength and tenderness. The paint is applied with love and vigour, the dots like pearls stitched on a bed of pink and black raw silk.

Images of cliffs, hills, rock wallaby holes, camping places, rivers, rocks in the river bed, waterholes, roads, stockyards and meeting places appear as distillations of important features of the landscape. A line might be a road or a river, a circle a waterhole, a place or a cave, a rectangle stock yards or hills.

In paintings in the exhibition entitled ‘Deeper than paint on canvas’ at William Mora Galleries the artist has evolved the dynamics of his artistic language. Red paint that once surrounded the black representational forms of hills, rivers and stockyards are now atmospheric fields that move in degrees from white pink and red. The artist observing his great friend Paddy Bedford painting, commented one morning that he wished to paint the Ngarranggarni way - meaning in technical terms the mixing of wet in wet of two colours on the surface of the canvas to create the gestural strokes and rhythm of the brush - spiritually a way to represent the four elements of life, earth, wind, fire and water.

These new paintings are not the usual representations of country but are an important development in Gija art because they also convey the language of natural elements, so crucial in Aboriginal communication and foreseeing of events.

In the painting, ‘Elgee Cliffs horse branding iron’ an arabesque shape representing a branding iron flats in a field of wind and dust as though the iron conjures a vision of bullocks, kicking up a cloud of Kimberley dust.

These are wonderful atmospheric paintings that convey a range of different natural experiences such as mist and rain to the crackling heat and smoke of a Kimberley gas fire.

Rammey has spent a lifetime quietly in the bush working as a stockman and caring for his family. His real father died before he was born, and his mother died of a snakebite when he was only a baby, so he never knew his own parents.

Retired and now working as a painter and continuing his role as a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather with many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who have the benefit of his care and knowledge. His paintings are an expression of a loving and gentle man who has known the hardships and beauty of life and above all a gift to convey knowledge and compassion through his art and most of all through unassuming and humble humanity.

The artists of Jirrawun would visit the city in distinctive looking suits and dark glasses.

They were photographed with politicians and dignitaries as they gained the art world’s approval and financial independence. A new purpose-built art centre was built at Wyndham, near the coast. Over time however, as the older artists died, Jirrawun Arts folded, and in 2010, Ramsey moved to the Warmun Art Centre.

Above all he seeks to convey knowledge and compassion in his work. Recently he has explored printmaking at the Charles Darwin University Studio. His work is held in major collections throughout Australia including Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, and the Ian Potter Gallery, Melbourne.

Rammey Ramsey continues to paint with Warmun Art Centre.

Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), Adelaide, SA, Australia.

Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA), Perth, WA, Australia.

Artbank Collection, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Holmes à Court Collection, Perth, WA, Australia.

National Gallery of Australia (NGA), Canberra, ACT, Australia.

National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art (AAMU), Utrecht, Netherlands.

The Laverty Collection, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Wollongong City Art Gallery, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

Awards 2015 Finalist – 32nd Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Art Award (NATSIAA) - Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), Darwin, NT, Australia.

2014 Finalist - The Alice Prize - Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT, Australia.

Selected Solo Exhibitions 2011 New Work by Rammey Ramsey - Seva Frangos Gallery, Perth, WA, Australia.

2004 Rammey Ramsey - Deeper than paint on canvas - William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

2003 Rammey Ramsey - RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia.

2001 Rammey Ramsey - RAFT Artspace Darwin, NT, Australia.

Selected Group Exhibitions 2019 Desert River Sea, Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA), Perth, WA, Australia.

2018 Jooroob “Coming Together” Exhibition - Warmun and Jirrawun Arts curated by Nichola Dare, Aboriginal Contemporary, Bronte, NSW, Australia.

Gija Exhibition - Woolloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

Warmun At Twenty Exhibition - A group exhibition celebrating 20 years of Warmun Art Centre - Nancy Sever Gallery, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

2017 Jirrawun Collection - TARNANTHI Festival, Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), Adelaide, SA, Australia.

When the Sky Fell - Legacies of the 1967 Referendum - Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth, WA., Australia.

Spiritual essence of the Earth with Warmun artists - Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery, Bruxelles, Belgium.

2016 Middle Distance - Hanging Vallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

2015 LIVELY: New Prints from Warmun Arts - Nomad Arts, Darwin, NT, Australia.

Finalist – 32nd Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Art Award (NATSIAA) - Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), Darwin, NT, Australia.

2014 Warmun: Gija Contemporary Art of Western Australia - Harvey Art Projects, Sun Valley, Idaho, USA. 2013 Gija Manambarram Jimerawoon (Gija Senior Law People Forever) - Australian Embassy Paris, France.

2010 Gaagembi - Poor Things - William Mora Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Four Men, Four Paintings - RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia.

2006 Jirrawun Artists - Melbourne Art Fair - William Mora Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

2005 Jirrawun in the House; A Contemporary Experience from the East Kimberley Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

Beyond the Frontier - Sherman Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

2003 Jirrawun Jazz - RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia.

Rammey Ramsey and Family, 2007 Source: © Photo Courtesy of Peter Eve

SECTION 1

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 180 x 150cm JA332/05

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here.

There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father.

Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Rammey’s intimate knowledge of waterholes, dreaming, camping and ceremonial sites across Warlawoon Country inform the composition of his paintings. Although minimalist in appearance his works are laden with narrative.

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 180 x 150cm JA345/07

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here.

There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father.

Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Rammey’s intimate knowledge of waterholes, dreaming, camping and ceremonial sites across Warlawoon Country inform the composition of his paintings. Although minimalist in appearance his works are laden with narrative.

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 180 x 150cm JA334/05

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here.

There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father.

Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Rammey’s intimate knowledge of waterholes, dreaming, camping and ceremonial sites across Warlawoon Country inform the composition of his paintings. Although minimalist in appearance his works are laden with narrative.

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 180 x 150cm JA349/06

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here.

There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father.

Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Rammey’s intimate knowledge of waterholes, dreaming, camping and ceremonial sites across Warlawoon Country inform the composition of his paintings. Although minimalist in appearance his works are laden with narrative.

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 180 x 150cm JA354/06

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here.

There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father.

Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Rammey’s intimate knowledge of waterholes, dreaming, camping and ceremonial sites across Warlawoon Country inform the composition of his paintings. Although minimalist in appearance his works are laden with narrative.

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 150 x 180cm JA343/10DU

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Rammey’s intimate knowledge of waterholes, dreaming, camping and ceremonial sites across Warlawoon Country inform the composition of his paintings. Although minimalist in appearance his works are laden with narrative.

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

SECTION 2

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 150 x 180cm JA341/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 150 x 180cm JA342/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 180 x 150cm JA346/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here.

There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father.

Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 180 x 150cm JA355/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here.

There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father.

Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

SECTION 3

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 150 x 180cm JA352/07

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Canvas 122 x 135cm JA086/00DU

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Canvas 135 x 122cm JA101/07

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Canvas 135 x 122cm JA115/07

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

SECTION 4

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Linen 122 x 135cm JA147/08

Rammey Ramsey spoke in Gija about this work with Frances Kofod. The English translation is given here: This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my country here. There is a Dreaming waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

That man looking down from the top of the painting (represented by the black shape) said “I’ll go down to the water.” The man at the bottom (of the painting) said “I’ll go up there to the water.” Those (shapes) represent two men talking together. They told each other “A mob of people are coming here to us from the east. This one is going too. Let’s all meet up there. There at the water hole we can get crocodile, turtles and water goanna.”

This is my mother and father’s country. I own that country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents. There is red ground country on one side and lighter, pink ground country on the other side. The road coming down through the gap is in the middle of the painting.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Canvas 80 x 100cm JA148/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Canvas 122 x 135cm JA085/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Canvas 122 x 135cm JA088/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Canvas 122 x 135cm JA074/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Board 80 x 100cm JA183/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Board 80 x 100cm JA188/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Board 80 x 100cm JA190/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Board 80 x 100cm JA191/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

Rammey RAMSEY Warlawoon Country Natural Ochre and Pigments on Board 80 x 100cm JA318/08

Rammey Ramsey is a senior Gija man of Joongoora skin, whose ancestral Country lies to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. Ramsey says: “This is my place called Warlawoon. They named me Warlawoon for my Country here. There is a Dreamtime waterhole there, a place where many fish live.

This is my mother and father’s Country. I own that Country from my mother and father. Lots of people used to live here with my parents.”

Ramsey now lives in Bow River. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.

In collaboration with

Rammey Ramsey Painting at Jirrawun Art Centre in 2009 Source: Š Photo Courtesy of Michelle Newton

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