GWYALA (Dingo Dreaming)

GWYALA (Dingo Dreaming)
This is a dreaming story of a hunter, Gwyala, and his nephew Burrajum. Gwyala and Barrajum had trained two hunting dogs to chase the animals close to the camp to facilitate their capture. This story tells how the then mountainous country of Beaudesert became flat.
The dogs' names were Ningroongun and Barrajanda. One day, as they were out hunting, they chased the animals to the Logan territory and the dogs caught a kangaroo rat. They then sighted a kangaroo and were running towards him when two little girls saw the shadows of the dogs and told their people, who were camped nearby. The people tried to catch the kangaroo but the kangaroo jumped into a lagoon and turned into a warrazim (a mysterious water creature).
The men then chased the dogs and ran them into the nets, and so fiercely did the dogs fight that in trying to catch the dogs, the men killed them. Gwyala ran towards the commotion and, on finding that his dogs were dead, he cried. His nephew said "Don't cry, uncle. I will cut the vine." To cut the vine of the piccabeen tree was to make the rains come, and only certain people were able to do this.
The clouds gathered and the rains came and flooded all the creeks and the rivers, and this created a great flood which caused landslides and buried all the people of the tribe who killed the dogs. It rained heavily like this day after day and the landslides flattened all the mountains and when the rain cleared all that remained were hills and ridges.
In the meantime, Gwyala and Burrumjum took the dogs and buried them under win peaks east of Wollumbin (Mt Warning). Even afterwards these twin peaks were always known as Ningroongun and Barrajanda. To us they are now known as the Cougals.

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Artist Statement
I was born in Cunnamulla, a small town in southwestern Queensland, on the edge of Barunggam Country. My yumba—my traditional home—is the land of the Barunggam people, who, for thousands of years, have walked gently on this Country as part of the Wakka Wakka language group. Our connection to the Darling Downs runs deep, shared with neighbouring clans like the Keinjan, Giabal, Jarowair, Bigambal, Kambuwal, and Jagara—each with their own sacred stories, songs, and traditions.

As an Aboriginal artist, my work is more than a visual experience—it is a spiritual practice, a cultural responsibility, and a personal journey. My inspiration comes from the land, from our Dreaming, and from the teachings of my wise grandad. Through him, I learned that painting is not about aesthetics—it’s about storytelling. Every line, every dot, every colour carries emotion, memory, and meaning.

I do not paint to follow trends or fit into boxes. I paint from feeling and truth. My art is a language—spoken through ochre tones, deep blues, and patterns shaped by the rhythm of Country. It is how I honour my ancestors, how I keep our stories alive, and how I share our culture with the world.

Each piece I create is a declaration:
This is who I am. This is where I come from. This is my story.

Through my work, I hope to offer a glimpse into the soul of Barunggam Country, to connect others with the strength, beauty, and resilience of Aboriginal culture. My art is a tribute to the generations who walked before me—and a message to the generations still to come.