Enduring relationships and systematic connections to totemic animals is a key factor in sustainable hunting practices. Individuals are responsible for the protection of their animal totems and are forbidden from eating them. Defined by these relationships, and often described in stories and Songlines, hunting is an intergenerational skill essential for survival. These artworks pay tribute and document the success and prowess of hunters, celebrating daily life and inherited knowledges.

Bark paintings are an evolution of ancient rock art traditions, which are the earliest surviving expressions of hunting practice. The stylised figurative painting Captured Kangaroo by Jalama artist Jimmy Jambalulu Mulwirrkbirrk shows a hunter in pursuit, just as his spear pierces his prey. The rarrk-embellished Echidna 1959 is a finely detailed depiction of the creature by Kunwinjku artist Yirrwala and further functions as an illustrated guide to preparing the animal for consumption.

Goanna skin 2008 by Lama-Lama artist Doris Platt is a contemporary documentation of hunting life, depicting the remains of her capture. Although it appears as an abstracted representation, the artist explains its origins are more literal: ‘We would hunt it, strip it back, cook it up. Goanna’s really nice and fat to eat. The skin was spread out like in my painting’.

Feature image: Doris Platt's Goanna skin (detail) 2008 / Purchased 2008. The Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Grant / © Doris Platt / Photograph: QAGOMA