Gooroowali
Butcher Cherel JANANGOO
2006 | acrylic on paper | accession number 747
purchased by the Art Board 2006 – Murdoch University Art Collection
© the artist and Mangkaja Arts Centre

Butcher Cherel JANANGOO

born circa 1920, Fossil Downs, Western Australia
lives and works Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia
language groups: Gooniyandi/Kija

Cherel is a key elder of the Gooniyandi language group and has been instrumental in the retention of Law ceremony at Muludja Community in Western Australia. He sees Aboriginal Law and language as fundamentally important and feels uneasy that young people today do not have this tradition to refer to as they have not been educated as he was.

He has actively painted and produced limited edition prints at Fitzroy Crossing’s Mangkaja Arts since the early 1990s and exhibited nationally since 1992.

Cherel is particularly well known for his works on paper, in both painting and prints, which show a particularly strong graphic finesse, sense of balance and often an illusory quality. The artist’s use of colour and precision of line is very sophisticated. His early works in particular are especially notable for this.

Gooroowali the subject of this artwork is a stone spearhead which is the central black shape. The lines represent the land of the artist’s country.

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