Aboriginal Painting - Mountain Devil Lizard (Thorny Devil Lizard)

Aboriginal Painting Title: Mountain Devil Lizard (Thorny Devil Lizard)
Aboriginal Artist: Violet Petyarre   (Great Investment) 
Size: 90 x 60 cm unframed
Medium: Acrylic on canvas

Authenticity:
COA and pictures of the artist holding and signing their work will be provided.

Story:
This work depicts the Mountain Devil Lizard Dreamtime story about an old woman traveling across the Atnangker country outlining the landscape and identifying sacred sites. The Mountain Devil Lizard dreaming story is Kathleen Petyarre’s totem, with the responsibility to look after the lizard.

The Anmatyerre and Alyawerre people of Utopia have a special Dreamtime story about the lizard, believing that the lizard carries coloured ochre (natural earth pigments) in the sack around its neck and is responsible for the distribution of ochre (colour) throughout the desert landscape.

A Symbol of Survival and Spiritual Connection

Central Australian Aboriginal communities continue to incorporate lizard species into their diet, immortalizing them in Bush Tucker paintings as vital food sources. In the Utopia region, a unique lizard, the Mountain Devil Lizard or Thorny Devil Lizard, reigns supreme. This enigmatic creature is not just a physical presence but a spiritual force, embodying the ancestral Dreamtime Story of the Old Woman Mountain Devil Lizard.

The Legacy of the Mountain Devil Lizard

For the renowned Petyarre sisters of Utopia, Central Australia, the Mountain Devil Lizard holds profound significance. Kathleen Petyarre, Violet Petyarre, Myrtle Petyarre, Gloria Petyarre, Nancy Kunoth Petyarre, Jean Petyarre, and Ada Bird Petyarre inherited the ancestral totem of the Mountain Devil Lizard from their paternal grandmother. As custodians of this sacred Dreaming, it is their solemn duty to preserve and transmit this rich cultural heritage to future generations.

Artistic Interpretations of Dreamtime Stories

In homage to the Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming, each Petyarre sister offers a unique artistic interpretation, weaving their spiritual connection with the land and its ancestral guardians into vibrant works of art.