Jadagen Warnkan Barnden

Jadagen Warnkan Barnden began as a series of discussions between Environmental Scientist Sonia Leonard, Linguist and Cultural Consultant Frances Kofod, senior Gija artists and knowledge holders from Warmun Art Centre. These discussions, held in 2012 and 2013, were part of a Kimberley-wide research project about Indigenous Perceptions of Climate Change, funded by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF). Out of these conversations came the proposition that Gija artists would share their knowledge in the Gija way, through ochre on canvas, and in story. In the !rst instance the artists chose one of the four main weather events for the region; either ‘hot’, ‘cold’, ‘wet’ or ‘"ood’. They then made paintings around these themes and the transitional phases between the seasons.