Djinbinmarra (rainmaker) | SP-2522

DOB: 4 April 1978

Birthplace: Subiaco, Perth WA

Community: Junjuwa, Fitzroy Crossing, WA

Language: Biridu

Family: Bunuba (grandfather), Walmajarri (grandmother), Djaru (grandmother), Gooniyandi (father’s grandmother)

Jack Macale grew up in the Junjuwa community in the Kimberly region of WA in Fitzroy Crossing. Jack’s mother was pregnant with he and his brother and at the time all twin pregnancies were to birth in Perth. Therefore, Jack and his twin brother were born in Subiaco.

In the early 1990’s Jack and his family moved to his grandfather’s country to the Biridu community 40km North of Fitzroy crossing. Biridu was formed when the implementation of the land rights act excised a portion of Leopold Downes pastoral station lease and returned the land to the rightful owners, the Bunuba. It was one of the first Bunuba communities that stemmed from the Junjuwa community.

Jack’s family background is diverse. His grandfather is Bunuba, his grandmother’s are Walmajarri and Djaru, and his father’s grandmother was Gooniyandi. His Walmajarri Grandmother is a the famous artist Munmurria Daisy Andrews, who has exhibited artworks across Australia and the world. Daisy was known for her vivid red landscapes of the Great Sandy Desert, where she captured the majestic mountain ranges of the West Kimberly. In 1994 she received the main award from the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards for her painting Lumpa Lumpa (wet time) landscape. “When I draw my pictures, I am seeing that country in my head. Looking at those sandhills, everything is good. When I am painting I tell my grandkids these stories. I tell them that next time they will come and visit this country.” (Munmurria Daisy Andrews)

Jack was always creative, winning his first art award in 1990 when he was in school in Fitzroy Crossing. In 2006 he moved to Perth and worked as an art teachers aid for one year. This was the time that Jack began to take his art seriously, particularly when a fellow colleague and art teacher noticed that he was good at painting. His early work came from emotions deep within his heart from missing his country and then he realised that this process became too confronting as it brought up much anger. His paintings included the country of his ancestor’s, the Dreamtime, and stories of Jundamarra, which he now loves to share with others.

In 2010, Jack began painting with Mangkaja Arts also with Warmun Art Centre in 2011 when he returned to Turkey Creek.

Jack has lived in many places across Australia but continues to have a connection to his country and regularly returns to visit family. He currently lives in Katherine NT.