Goanna by Bonita Williams 15x34cm FJ017BW

"Goanna" by Bonita Nungurrayi Williams depicts a powerful goanna with its limbs stretched out on the soft, rich desert sand. The goanna, a crucial food source in Central Australia, holds significant cultural and historical importance. These lizards, belonging to the genus Varanus, are found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Goannas, also known as monitor lizards, migrated from the north to Africa and Australia around 15 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. They play an essential role in history and culture, serving as a traditional native food source and frequently appearing in Aboriginal Dreamtime stories.

In Aboriginal cultures, the goanna is often seen as a Creator spirit in Dreamtime tales. These animals hold totemic status, participate in ceremonies, and are featured in parables about proper conduct and hunting methods. Traditionally, goannas are caught on the ground and cooked similarly to kangaroos—singeing the skin in a fire before laying them on hot coals to cook. Perenties, another type of lizard, can be found in trees, rabbit burrows, or creek beds.

Bonita Nungurrayi Williams, born in Alice Springs in 1971, has spent most of her life there, with some time in Western Australia. She learned painting from her mother, an artist from Ti Tree, who speaks Anmatyerre. Married with four children, Bonita's totems are the goanna and snake, but she often paints various bush foods like witchetty grubs, honey ants, and berries, highlighting her deep cultural connections.