Johnathon World Peace Bush

Johnathon World Peace Bush lived for many years in Borroloola working as a stockman at an outstation herding horse and cattle. Johnathon’s father is from Borroloola and his mother is from Milikapiti on the Tiwi Islands. He moved back to Milikapiti to be with his mother’s family and to spend time with his daughter. Johnathon is part of the Bush family, whose country is Andranangoo (Goose Creek), east of where Milikapiti sits on the north coast of Melville Island. He started working at Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association in 2015, after being encouraged to start painting by his brother artist Kenny Brown.

Johnathon World Peace Bush’s ochre paintings present a unique combination of Tiwi culture and his personal views on global politics, family and cultural heritage. He adopts some painting techniques that reflect jilamara (Tiwi body paint design) and combines them with representations of political figureheads, stories of colonial crimes against Indigenous people or adaptations of old anthropological images made of the Tiwi. He uses natural ochres that are sourced from Melville Island to make these compositions in the three colours of Tiwi land kurrujupuni, arrikininga, yarringa (white, yellow, red).

In the last few years, Johnathon has been gaining increased recognition for his unique painting style, his political views as well as his poetry and lyrics. His work is held in the collection at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and has had multiple paintings selected as a significant contemporary contribution to the current TIWI exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). He is featured in the associated publication edited by Judith Ryan, Senior Curator of Indigenous Art, and his work has been collated by the NGV.