artist – Theo Nangala Hudson

community – Central & Western Desert (Warlukurlangu Artists)

title: Fire Country Dreaming

year painted: 2025

dimensions: 30 x 30cm

medium: Acrylic on canvas

stretched: yes

about this painting:

This Dreaming story belongs to Warlukurlangu country, southwest of Yuendumu, and is cared for by Jampijinpa/Jangala men and Nampijinpa/Nangala women. It tells of an old man, Lungkarda (a centralian blue-tongued lizard), who lived with his two Jangala sons. Pretending to be blind, he sent his sons hunting while secretly eating food himself.

When the sons returned with a kangaroo that was sacred to Lungkarda (without knowing it), he became angry. To punish them, he used his fire stick to create a massive bushfire that chased the boys across the land. Although they tried to escape and put out the flames, Lungkarda’s magic kept the fire alive, and it re-emerged from his lizard hole. Eventually, the exhausted boys were overcome by the fire.

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional symbols are used to represent this Jukurrpa and its key sites, including Warlukurlangu (a men’s cave), Kirrkirmarnu (where the kangaroo was killed), Wayililinypa (where the fire killed the sons), and Marnimarnu (a water soakage where they camped).

This artwork can be viewed at our Sydney gallery.