Wallaby Dreaming with three caves by Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri

Wallaby Dreaming with three caves 1972
synthetic polymer paint on compressed fibreboard Gift of the Department of the Northern Territory, 1974. MAGNTCollection.
WAL122

This painting depicts a man and his dingo looking for Wallaby to eat. (original description)

Viewed schematically the path and gait of the man, his dingo and a Wallaby can be traced across the landscape. The curved lines in this painting show the mark of the Wallaby's tail as it drags through the sand. The paw prints that appear either side of its tail mimic the Wallaby's slow approach to water sources depicted as concentric circles. Between the man and his dingo is an unusual series of prints that run beside and between an interrupted line that alludes to an unidentified three-legged being.

Mick Namarari TJAPALTJARRI
b. Marnpi, Northern Territory, c.1926;d.1998
Pintupi language