The First Fire – Watjali Maka

By Jesse Sutton                  
Age – 17 years            
Size – 30cm wide X 40cm high          
Medium – Acrylic and textured acrylic on canvas
Floating Frame - Painting comes with the floating frame and free postage Australia wide

The First Fire – Watjali Maka

My name is Jesse Sutton and I am a contemporary Indigenous artist from the Kalkadoon people from the Mount Isa area in Queensland. This painting is called “Watjali Maka” in the Kalkadoon language which means “The First Fire”.

This painting represents a special story to my people, it represents the first fire coming to Kalkadoon country and the young woman who was put in charge of keeping the fire lit.

After a ferocious storm the guarded fire was put out by the rain and the young woman then roamed Kalkadoon country for years only returning to her people after she had found the fire and the secret to making it.

This story is as old as time itself and is a story from the beginning of time.