By Samantha Wortelhock
Original Painting and Giclee Limited Edition Print on Canvas Print Size: 740mm x 340mm

Re-Member

How rich it was for me to listen
to the wisdom of an Elder
Bill Yidumduma Harney with Doctor Hugh Cairns
Had asked me to paint them a picture
For a book about the Wardaman People’s
Cosmic songline stories
This is the one of their Creation
Of how everything on Earth came to be
When the Milky Way revealed a tale
How Australia is as we now see.
Creation Dog was chasing red kangaroos
Carrying a dilly bag of songs
Across the clear night sky he ran
When he came across black-headed python
Whose head was cleanly severed
As lifeless he lay in his nest
And Creation Dog lay down with him
In grief he had to rest
And as he lay still a young initiate boy
Found him and doubted he was alive
So he cut his ear just to see
If he had survived
And in that moment of doubt
A massive transition occurred on the land below
Where the place was full of just people
Ceremonially dressed all alone
Some were gum trees some were creatures
Just like the ones we see today.
For in that moment they did transform
Their guise became quite real
Suddenly there were wallabies, numbats and all of
The wildlife we now know, see and feel
And the people Souls of those brand new animals
Were sent to the Heavens above
To become stars to shine
On the ones below and teach them Universal Love.
So each star was once a person who left this physical Earth
And they now reside with the black space ancestors
Who watch us through life from birth.
So whether Creation Dog is star, spirit or ceremonial guise
Or indeed a thylacine or cave painting
They are cosmically all One and alive.
So, for me, an artist who came to paint them
All I can say is this
That I learned so much about time and space
And how fluid it really is.
It is time for us to listen to these people
Who operate with a sixth sense.
One we shut down a long time ago
Leaving us with a myopic lens

The Story Behind The Painting
Re-member is a deep insight into the Wardaman creation songline. Fixed in the Milky Way, the songline explains how every animal was born on Earth. The poem explains the songline really well. Samantha was invited by academic world speaker on Aboriginal rock art, Professor Hugh Cairns and Wardaman Elder Bill Yidumduma Harney to paint two paintings for their book “DarkSparklers”, The book was the first account of the stellar songlines and the Sydney Morning Herald reviewer compared it’s importance to Bruce Chatwin’s book “Songlines.” Samantha met Bill Harney for the first time when the book was launched at Government House in Darwin and the two bonded. Bill invited Sam to Mingen Station 150 kms west of Katherine where he sat her at Moon Dreaming, a rock art site of immense importance, and told her the Creation Story, the subject of Re-member. For more infomation read the About Us section of this site and read the poem for a walk into the world of Bill Yidumduma Harney.