‘Three-dog night’ is a desert country phrase that refers to a night that is so cold that three dogs are needed in your bed to keep warm. It exemplifies the depth of human–canine companionship and relationships, in this region and across the continent.

Dogs are a prominent fixture in almost all Aboriginal communities. For places like Aurukun, situated in dingo country, a dog is not ‘just a dog’ but an ancestral force of extraordinary potency akin to its native counterpart. The iconic ku’ (camp dogs) created by the acclaimed Aurukun carvers speak to the individual characteristics of these beloved furry community members, and to the dog’s Dreaming tracks (or Songlines) throughout their homelands.

Pintupi artist Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri honours the spiritual power of his Country, and the sacred stories embodied within it, in paintings of dog and dingo Tjukurpa (Dreamings). Gija artist Mabel Juli’s 2004 painting Marranyji and Dinal abstractly illustrates the story of a woman searching for her dog, which has chased a kangaroo into a water-filled cave.

Feature image: Works by (l–r) Garry Namponan, Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, Craig Koomeeta and Jack Bell, installed at QAG for 'Great and Small', July 2025 / © The artists / Photograph: C Callistemon, QAGOMA