This print is based on a childhood memory from traditional life on the Murchison River, when the artist’s father worked as a stockman at Murchison House Station. Gidgi Marra Spring was an important source of water for Nhanda people living or camping on Country.

“I can remember when I was a little girl. From nine to 13 years, I can remember going to Gidgi Marra. We used to fill up a couple of ten gallon drums with water for Dad. We’d use an enamel mug and a billy can made from an empty fruit tin. We used to clear the water lily leaves away with our hands and them dip the mug in to get the water to fill up the drum. We had to move the lily leaves carefully out of the way. We weren’t allowed to damage them. We used empty fruit tins as our mugs – we didnt have enough enamel mugs.

I’d take the water bags off the car and fill them up too, and put them back on the vehicle, Dad’s old Holden ute.”

The jigsaw technique involves cutting out the pieces of the design, inking them individually and then placing them very carefully back in the cut out block. A background pressing is made first and thoroughly dried before the inset pieces can be applied. Careful registration and great care is needed to produce a vibrant background and sharp foreground elements.

One of an edition of ten, each piece is uniquely hand made with small variations possible in each pressing.