Mickey Wilson's unique use of fine jilamara (body paint design) in his words are; "all about the clouds we get up here in build up and wet season." On the Tiwi's the weather not only indicates the change of seasons, but also indicates times to hold ceremonies such as the Kulama (coming of age ceremony) that occurs at the end of the wet season when a ring appears around japarra (the moon). Indictators of seasonal change can also mark the coming of different hunting seasons, like the coming of large wet season clouds over the wetlands of Melville Island during the build up months signals the start of Naganari (Magpie Goose) hunting. Wilson'scombinations of marlipinyini (lines) and pwanga (dots) in ochre design outline the changing combinations of clouds and rain that makeup the various seasons of the tropical Tiwi Islands.

Courtesy of Jilamara Arts and Crafts