Johnny Gordon Downs Jangala

 Johnny is one of the senior law men at Balgo Hills (WA). He is also one of a group of artists that includes such illustrious names as Johnny Mosquito, Sunfly Jampitjin, Richard Tax and Donkeyman Lee.
   Johnny has been described as ‘a master of the style’ which involves ‘invoking striking visual tensions by the use of striations or parallel lines.’ (James Cowan ‘Wirrimanu’, p60).
   His main dreamings are Tingarri and water, The source of these dreamings is centered on ‘Milpinlilli’ a waterhole south of Balgo. He frequently paints this rockhole which is hidden amongst the sandhills. In his mythology he tells how this rockhole was created by the Rainbow Snake in the Dreamtime. Another favored dreaming is ‘Mimintilli’ a low-lying swamp area surrounded by hills which was his father’s country. This place has powerful associations with the Tingarri cycle, the major story of the creation spirits for the desert people That still roam and reside in this county.
   He is obsessed with landforms that create striking visual imagery. As James Cowan points out, Johnny is often concerned with obscuring the major images in his work by confusing the retina of the eye with dazzling pattern.
   There are may fine painters at Balgo Hills who work in a way which is colorful, attractive and dynamic. The painters there, however, retain their close links with the land and their creation myths. Since the late 1980’s Johnny Gordon Downs has held a prominence amongst the artists of this community.
   His work is represented in major collections throughout Australia and the USA. Publications: Cowan, James, Wirrimanu, Craftman House, Sydney, 1994. Cowan, James, Balgo: new directions, Craftman House, Sydney, 1999.