Bradshaw/Gwion
Bradshaw/Gwion rock art has been known by various names including Kiro kiro or Djaeneka djaeneka depending on the area and the language spoken. Currently the figures are more commonly known by their local Aboriginal name Gwion Gwion or Gwion, a name derived from one of the Aboriginal beliefs in the Kimberley that explains their origins.
Bradshaw found the original sites in 1891 on the Roe River in the north-west Kimberley. Since that time, the seminal work of the late Grahame Walsh raised the profile of Gwion Gwion art and pioneered the systematic study of the art in its cultural and environmental context.
Bradshaw/Gwion rock art is best recognised from the depiction of graceful, active, long-bodied humans, often of a mulberry hue. However the work of Walsh has shown that the Bradshaw/Gwion tradition is in fact a complex one, incorporating a number of distinct styles, which appeared to have been developed in a sequential manner.
Bradshaw/Gwion figures may be shown to have a wider area of distribution than Wanjinas with related painted figures known at Keep River in the Northern Territory.
