DESIGNS

	CROCODILE DREAMING BY GRAHAM CALMA This painting is unusual in that it was painted in Central Australia, but the subjects, Crocodiles and Turtles, are very definitely coastal. It was painted as a decorative work with no real storyline. The dot art style is not often found in conjunction with crocodiles and turtles.
	WOMENS CORROBOREE BY NANCY CAMPBELL NAPANANGKA As the name implies, the Central Desert Work depicts a gathering and celebration of Women. In the diagonal corners are two groups of female elders, probably with feasting in progress. We can identify them as women by the digging stick and coolamon. In this case the coolamons are full of food, from which we can safely assume some form of celebration is in progress. The other females in the painting, scattered through the main body of the work do not yet have coolamons to collect and carry food and not all have digging sticks close to them, or only have curved sticks. Perhaps at the end of the ceremony, these young girls will be regarded as women. This painting is part of Aboriginal Law and further discussion or query is not appropriate.
	BUSH FRUIT DREAMING BY DORIS NAMPITJINPA A colourful depiction of the nutritious and tasty berries and seed pods available in the countryside after rain. The waterhole at the centre of the picture is full and fresh, providing the essential moisture for the colourful background of desert flowers and plants which bear the bush fruit.
	SPIRIT OF THE LAND BY LORNI HYLAND Lorni shows us the many beautiful things she encounters in her everyday life. She starts at the top right hand corner of the picture and travels through paths of nature’s creatures. Small lizards, the eastern grey kangaroo, crabs, fish, the echidna and the sandpipers on the beach. The last line shows her home and her joy at being surrounded by all this beauty.
	WARRIOR DREAMING BY LORNI HYLAND Depiction of the Aboriginal man’s image of himself, the red kangaroo, the largest most powerful and potentially most dangerous of our native animals. The two animals facing each other could be interpreted as confrontation however, is merely a way of keeping balance, an important ingredient in all of Lorni’s work.
	HEART OF MY PEOPLE BY ZANE SAUNDERS, TATIPAI BARSA, ANDREW WILLIAMS This painting hangs in its original form as the curtain at the Tjapukai Dance Theatre at Kuranda near Cairns in Queensland. It is a very large and complex work depicting many of the forest animals and sea creatures encountered by these coastal Aboriginal people in their daily lives. Note the Rainbow Serpent, the creature running horizontally through the work and the pair of spirit men or ancestral beings. The long necked tortoise and saltwater crocodile, colourful reef fish, star fish and manta rays are all included as is the hatch of baby turtles. The tribe is at the heart of it all at their meeting place or camp with its central campfire.
	HEART OF MY PEOPLE II BY ANDREW WILLIAMS This work is loosely based upon the original Heart of My People of which Andrew was one of the three artists. At the completion of the first work, Andrew wished to repaint the picture “his way” and this vibrant and colourful painting is the result. What it lacks to some extent in fine detail is more than compensated for with the outstanding colours.
	TIDES OF THE DOLPHINS BY LIONEL DOYLE This beautiful flowing work shows the dolphins at one with their environment – the ocean. Moving with the currents they chase the schools of small fish for food. The original colour of this work was the tan and brown as seen on the video, but the artist provided us with the blues which better reflect the ocean colours.
	TURN OF NATURE BY LIONEL DOYLE Quite a modern almost abstract painting showing the rich variety of living things that nature provides for the aboriginal people to harvest and enjoy. The work is unusual having a modern European style background with traditional cross-hatched animal figures.
	WATERHOLE DREAMING BY LINDA BROWN NABANUNGA The painting depicts the desert in drought. There are three dry waterholes with few circles and black centres and the water is now concentrated in the central waterhole, still with many concentric circles. All of the animals, reptiles and other life in the area are now dependant on this waterhole for their survival. This also includes the aboriginal people shown in the bottom left corner. They are sitting around their camp fire and footprints indicates that they are travelling to the waterhole for water, but not for food. Their footprints clearly indicate that they only track or hunt away from the water. Notice their returning footprints leading to intersect with those of the emu as it leaves the water. In this way, the waterhole remains undisturbed and life for everyone can go on.
	ON WALKABOUT BY KAREN TAYLOR This very traditional Western Desert work clearly depicts the journey of a young man who leaves his family at the top right corner of the painting and undertakes a long walk in search of a partner. Despite visiting many other tribes and family groups he has still not been successful and makes his own camp, or settles at a new site in the top left hand corner. The white snake at each group would indicate fertility and a closeness to or favourable relationship with the earth. Since the place where our young man has settled also has the snake, we believe the young man’s search will have a happy ending.
	FROM THE BUSH BY GABRIELLE POSSUM The story is centred on a waterhole in the spring or early summer. The waterhole is full and all of the life forms in the desert are plentiful. The background features bright colours with the addition of flowers and bush fruit. In other words, a time of plenty. A major feature is the large snake who has laid claim to the waterhole, making it her home, laying her eggs close by. Two visitors to the waterhole, the emu whose prints are in the bottom right of the picture and the human who also came to drink did not leave. Perhaps they were victims of the snake. The wombat who approaches from the top right of the picture sees what is happening and turns away to seek water elsewhere.
	BUSH TUCKER BY JULIE NABANGARDI SHEDDEN We could jokingly refer to this as an Aboriginal Cook Book. We can see three people sitting at their campfire. The digging sticks and coolamons next to the seated figures confirm that they are female. They are discussing the food sources available in the area. The honey ants, small lizards, snakes and witchetty grubs are shown along with bush fruit. The womens’ footprints wander through the food probably indicating that the food may be collected.
	BALANCE OF NATURE BY LIONEL DOYLE This painting illustrates the balance of nature between the water dwelling, land dwelling and flying creatures. At the centre of the work is a major food source, the kangaroo and the two groups of dancing female and male figures are depictions of the celebration of natures’ diversity and harmony.
	“NGURA” OUR LAND BY TJINTA TJINTA Total concept painting with the continent of Australia filled with the beauty of the Central Desert and Uluru. The area surrounding the map reminds us of the riches and bountiful food supplies available in this great country. One of the most interesting features of the painting is often missed. The island of Tasmania is shown and the animal painted on it is the now extinct Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger.
	SPIRIT MAN BY TJINTA TJINTA The centre of the painting is the night sky with a myriad of stars showing the paths of the ancestors. From the heavens a spirit man is looking and ensuring the ongoing harmony between the people and the animals, fish and plants on which they depend.
	FRILLED NECK LIZARD BY BRIAN NGULU This spectacular looking lizard is usually shown in advertising material with the desert or Uluru in the background, which is totally incorrect. The Frilled Neck is a forest dwelling reptile from the rainforest at the very top of the continent. The artist re-reinforces this fact by surrounding his lizard with creatures from the forest, rivers and coast. We can see bush fruit, the tiny sugar glider with his skin flap “wings”, fishes, jelly fish, platypus and the green tree snake. The lizard is shown sharing its territory with the giant python, its mythical brother.
	GOANNA DREAMING BY THULI SHANE BATES The artist feels that he shares his spirit with the Goanna. Neither of them likes to be hurried, however they like to get things done properly. This resemblance was pointed out to him by a lady elder of his tribe who had watched him growing since he was a small child.