ABOUT THE ARTIST

An important figure in the contemporary East Kimberley painting movement, artist Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford was born on Bedford Downs Station where he worked as a stockman. As an Elder of the Gija people and a respected Lawman, he was skilled in body painting which he practiced during ceremonies all his life.

He only joined the contemporary art movement in 1997, when he began painting on canvas as part of the Jirrawun Aboriginal Arts Corporation and Art Centre, co-founded by artist Freddie Timms. Inspired by the paintings of Rover Thomas, Paddy Bedford's style is often recognizable by its use of broad flat tints of ochre enhanced by dotted whites.

Experimenting with colors and techniques such as acrylic paint and gouache, the artist translates into simple and expressive geometric compositions the structure and characteristics of the Kimberley landscapes. His paintings include important cultural sites, trajectories of Ancestors and memories of historical events.