Jack Britten

Jack Britten was born c1921 at Tickelara in the East Kimberly. He is a senior Gija lawman. As a boy he was taken to work as a stockman and later as a road worker. In 1982 he moved back permanently to Frog Hollow, where he had worked to establish the Worranginy Out-Station.

His painting focuses on his country, its origins, ceremonies and ancestal figures, his vision merging the spiritual and physical landscape.

Britten began painting early in life. His grandparents taught him to paint using traditional materials, methods and themes. Distinctive feature of his painting are the use of bush-gum or sap as the binder for ochres and the use of saw-toothed incising.

He depicts his Dreamings with a lateral landscape perspective and gentle clusters of dome shaped shapes which represent the Bungle Bungles. He is know for his exploration of the landscape with rough textures and bold designs. The distinctive dotting which outlines and is embodied in the landscape forms, describes the country and evokes the presence of ancestors and ceremonies. Jack often incorporates body markings into his work emphasising his ritual seniority. His work is a spiritual and lyrical reflection on the landscape.

In 1992 Jack Britten won the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award and the National National Art Award. His work is held in several national, private and corporate collections.

Jack Britten sadly passed in 2002.

Source: Australian ArtPrint Network