Traditional Runners in Dance

Artist: HUGHIE DJUBIDJA AHWON

Cat#: PGKM032

Size: 102x51cm

Medium: Painting

Natural pigments on canvas
Hughie Ahwon’s Aboriginal ancestry is through his great grandmother whose family connections translate today to include Lily Karadada, the contemporary ‘matriarch’ of the “Wandjana” Dreaming. The Wandjina were ancient ancestral creation characters who left images of themselves on the walls and ceilings of ancient caves as a message for the people to follow the Law they had handed down.

This painting is related via Hughie’s great uncle who had reached the age of 101 in 2013 and was acknowledged as the last of the great Aboriginal Runners who – over the millennia – ran over vast distances carrying news and cultural information between communities. The Americans used him during the 2nd World War to carry secret information to headquarters to avoid possible radio and telegraph leaking to the enemy.

Hughie has honored his great uncle in this painting by depicting him in traditional dance expressing his cultural place and contributions to Aboriginal communities across parts of the Kimberley.
ction and union between far distant communities.