Jumbindi
About Jumbindi
Sitting among an array of brightly painted canvases and boab nuts, it is fitting that Goonian man, artist Reynold Indich (or Jumbindi as he is also known) blends into his stall at the Broome Courthouse Market. His original painted artworks and souvenirs are a blend of traditional Kimberley culture, Jumbindiʼs contemporary style, Broomeʼs ambience and Jumbindi himself. “I paint what I see. I paint from the leeyan – the heart of the countrymen. There’s an old Kimberley expression: ‘Coming to Broome to live is like a dream come true.’ When you come up here you capture the essence of Broome, and being an artist it flows through you and I wanted to capture the Kimberley in my paintings.”
Jumbindi was born in Perth and moved to Broome with his wife and daughter and took up a job in man’s outreach. When the job was no longer available, he took up painting as a therapeutic pursuit. It’s now become a career. “I totally focussed all my energy on painting. It’s what kept me going, especially from a therapeutic perspective,” he said. “I really do enjoy it. I particularly love talking to people from overseas, especially from Lebanon and Egypt because they have old traditions and remedies that go back centuries and we bounce off each other’s knowledge. I paint more for the love of doing it than the money, but I’m thankful that it pays the bills.” Knowing stories of the travels of his artworks, such as a painting of dancing brolgas now hanging in a castle in England, also inspires Jumbindi. “Money can't buy things like that,” he said.
Among Jumbindiʼs best-sellers are painted boab nuts and paintings of the iconic bottle-shaped boab trees, handpainted didgeridoos, or gorgeous landscapes on canvas. He works closely with his Aunty, well known artist Wendy Feifar-Nannup, collaborating with her to recreate the sunburnt and lush areas of land in WA.
