Tommy Gondorra Steele

This painting is of a water plant called Jimijima. Like, this plant is one of Tommy Gondorra Steele's personal Dreamings. It is something like a waterlily. Jimijima is associated with Yalija, and is also associated with other sacred waterholes in the Wurdeja area. Tommy's painting of jimajima lives in wet water area at Wurdeja. They have an edible root, which is brownish and bitter when raw, but once roasted on coals it is deliciously sweet. They are only found in sacred waterholes in the Wurdeja area, including Yalija, and humans and spirits live off them. Like this plant is one of Tommy Gondorra Steele's personal Dreamings.

Tommy Gondorra Steele is the last male member of the Garnawula Niya clan. He lives at Wurdeja outstation, about four kilometres east of the Blyth River, and is the traditional owner of that area. Wurdeja is surrounded by a series of sacred waterholes and it is these waterholes, which provide the subject matter for Steele's art. The plant is known as Jimi- jima (monochoria australasica), a low, bright blue flowering plant of wetland areas. Jimi- jima.

Source: Maningrida Arts and Culture