Wak Wak (Crows) are Joe’s constant companions while he paints at Manmoyi his outstation which is located in central Arnhem Land. Wak are a reoccurring subject throughout Joe’s paintings, he describes them as cheeky birds who love to pick over teabags, sugar, meat scraps and anything else they can find.
The old people say that Wak (the crow) belonged to the Mardku marti moiety, and Marram (the whistling kite) to the Ngarradjku matri moiety. Wak is also the name of a place to the north of Gunbalanya. We see lots of crows year-round in many clan countries. There is a story that Wak used to a person in the Dreamtime, who walked around just like us.
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