Created by collaborative duo Simone Arnol and Bernard Lee Singleton Jr, Ritual, Bawi (nan) #2, Ritual, Ngama (mum) #4 and Ritual, Wagal (Vernamay) #4 2021 represent key works from the ongoing ‘Medicine clay – Gidjarr’ photographic series. Through intimate portraits of three generations of Singleton Jr’s family – his father, Bernard Singleton Sr; his niece, Sara Fagan; and himself – the artists document their continued connection with people, place and practice.

In each work, the sitter is adorned with gidjarr (medicine clay), a revered material customarily used for the treatment of ailments including abdominal pain, women’s business and general wellbeing. Overlaying the clay is wuba (red ochre) in designs significant to each bearer, representing ancestral connections to Country and the transfer of knowledge between generations. These photographs create a captivating visual record of dynamic rituals, customs and knowledge systems emblematic of their combined cultural inheritances, unique to Far North Queensland.