Kirriwirri, 2007

Important Australian Indigenous Art
Melbourne
25 March 2026
62

Jan Billycan (Djan Namundie)

(c.1930 - 2015)
Kirriwirri, 2007

natural earth pigments and synthetic polymer paint on linen

89.0 x 59.0 cm

bears inscription verso: artist's name, date, medium, size and Short Street Gallery cat. 23559

Estimate: 
$5,000 – $7,000
Provenance

Short Street Gallery, Broome, Western Australia
Chapman Gallery, Canberra
The Alan Boxer Collection, Canberra, acquired from the above in November 2007
Mossgreen, Melbourne, 17 March 2015, lot 1
Private collection, Melbourne

Exhibited

New Paintings from Bidyadanga, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, 2 - 25 November 2007, cat. 12

This work is accompanied by a certificate from Short Street Gallery which states:

'"This place is the birth place of my father's clan. Our clan is also named Kirriwirri, and call each individual members of this clan Kirriwirri. There is a a big warla (mud flat) at this place. This is what this painting is about." Kirriwirri is in the Great Sandy Desert close to and west of Well 33 on the Canning Stock Route. It is the birth place of Jan and her family. This work shows tali (sand dunes) and jila (living water).'