Warraburnburn
Jeremiah Bonson (born 1982) is a Djinnang/Murrungun artist from Australia. Born in Darwin and raised in Gamourgouyoura, the sacred country of his mother Mathilda, he now lives in Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island.
A dancer, musician (yidaki player), painter, and sculptor, he learned his traditional culture and inherited his ancestral story (songline) from his adoptive father, Jimmy.
He notably depicts warraburnburn spirits, or “ghost spirits,” which embody ancestral memory, clan connections, the land, and the passage between the world of the living and the beyond. In his art, they often appear in a stylized, oversized form painted in black and white, highlighting their supernatural nature.
An emerging artist drawing on a millennia-old tradition, Jeremiah Bonson creates works deeply rooted in the culture and stories of his country, asserting his own artistic identity while continuing the legacy of Galiwin’ku artists.
Collections:
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia