Two Men Dreaming at Kuluntjarranya is widely considered to be Patjarrngurrarra Tjapaltjarri Tommy Lowry’s greatest work.

In this painting, Lowry depicts the epic Wati Kutjarra (Two Men Dreaming) narrative, taking place in the Country southwest of Kintore in the Northern Territory (on the edge of the Western Australian border). This ancestral story follows the Wati Kutjarra (Two Men) — who were ngangkaris (traditional healers) — as they travelled throughout the area. The Wati Kutjarra found minykulpa (very strong native tobacco) and rested upon some sandhills to eat it, which Lowry has depicted in the lower left corner of the canvas as a small circle enclosed by oblong lines.

The tobacco was so strong that the Wati Kutjarra ‘died’ and were left sprawled out on the sand. Urine leaked from their bodies and the torrent was so powerful that the ground became saturated and a great salt lake formed. That lake is known as Kumpukurra (bad urine), and Lowry has represented it in the large roundels that comprise much of the composition. After the lake was formed, the Wati Kutjarra came back to life and journeyed further over the area.