Wirdim is associated with a number of important Dreamtime figures including the Rainbow Snake, a lizard-like creature Mooloonggor and the Old Dreamtime Woman, Ganggamerl.<BR> <BR> EAST KIMBERLEY<BR> From 1880 on, this area has been occupied by white colonists. Overgrazing destroyed the ecological balance of the country. Once in a while the Aboriginals speared cattle for food. This resulted in conflicts. As in many other areas the Aboriginals were forced off their land. During the first 50 years of colonisation, about half of the Aboriginal people of the East Kimberleys were murdered. Aboriginal men used to work as stockmen on the cattle stations. In 1969, things became worse when a new law demanded the payment of equal for black and white workers. Most Aboriginal stockmen were fired and became homeless as a result. With government assistence the Aboriginals established the Warmun community at Turkey Creek, which is now the most important art centre in the Kimberleys. In their paintings the major theme is the land and locations with a special historical and spiritual meaning. The landscape is depicted in profile and different perspectives are used. Whereas the central desert artist depict mountains as flat circles, the East Kimberley artists paint them in profile as conical shapes. The edges of the paintings are often decorated with a line of dots, which are also used to emphasize main issues in the painting. The art works are done on linen with natural ochres, mixed with a binder. Sometimes artists mix the colours.<BR> <BR> TURKEY CREEK AND KUNUNURRA<BR> <BR> Painting on canvas and linen done in natural ochres.<BR> Cultural and artistic renewal is typical for the art of this region. The originality and high standard of these paintings has made them well known and appreciated. Mountains, rivers and boabab trees are abstractly depicted in these works. Especially appealing are the paintings of the Bungle Bungles: conical shaped mountains east of Warmun (Turkey Creek).<BR>