Gunamidirra

Jason Lee's artwork, Gunamidirra (meaning saltwater), references the coastal placement of Darwin, Larrakia country and the ongoing custodianship of saltwater people living here.  

The artwork, in the brilliant blue colourway, can be seen throughout the Darwin CBD and the Smith Street Mall on concrete planter boxes, metal benches and bins. For the tank artwork, the artist rescoped the design to feature in vibrant pink for a refreshed and different colour option, and to contrast with the parkland environment that it is in.  

The artist's original artwork was translated digitally into a repeated pattern, so that it would work well on the tank site and keep his initial idea and features of the design intact. 

Meet the Artist

Jason is a self-taught Larrakia artist living on saltwater country. He started learning his gulumerrdjin (Larrakia) culture from a young age, which was further cultivated during his teenage years and through learning Larrakia language. Jason’s dreaming is the dragonfly, bidjipidji (pronounced beedj-peedjee) in Larrakia language. His work includes both traditional and contemporary styles and spans a range of formats including illustration, decal design and drone light show conceptualisation as part of the Darwin Festival. Jason also creates large scale murals as part of the Darwin Street Art Festival and for other local businesses. 

Instagram @bidjipidji_art

Photographer: Charlie Bliss Creative