Mildjaru by Billy Duncan, 100x140cm

At the heart of this striking natural pigment and ochre painting, titled Mildjaru by Billy Duncan Jungari, lies a circle symbolising the meteor crater of Mildjaru. The artist explained, “On either side are the hills of Miyungnali and Moornboo. The old people used to hunt around here for kangaroo. This place is in my country, in the desert area between Duncan Highway and Kikimby Station. You can’t really get to this place easily now—too much bush.”

Billy, along with other artists from the Kimberley region, continues an ancient tradition in which his ancestors used ochres for ceremonial body painting and storytelling on cave walls. The ochre pits scattered throughout the Kimberley are not only special but often sacred, deeply intertwined with the Dreaming pathways of ancestral beings. By using ochres in his work, Billy maintains this cultural continuum, connecting the past to the future and underscoring the significance of land, culture, and environment.

The Kimberley’s rugged escarpments, deep gorges carved by ancient waterways, waterholes replenished by underground springs, vast spinifex plains, and flowering eucalypts and acacias evoke a landscape imbued with spiritual power. Hidden ochre pits, essential to both art and culture, serve as enduring reminders of the region's profound connection to its ancestral heritage.

The raw, textured quality of ochre surfaces in Billy's work resonates with the quiet yet commanding presence of the Kimberley country from which it originates. His paintings channel the spirit of place, creating a tangible connection to the land.

Billy Duncan Jungari is a respected artist from the Jaru and Koorindgi language group. His works are highly regarded and included in numerous collections, with two held in the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).