This painting is the artist’s depiction of himself and his mother just as Jesus is with his mother. Mary. The colours arc the colours of Australia. The hands and dots in the background represent the elders who are gone but who are still present. The serpent represents the Holy Spirit and the carpet snake is the Gumbayngirr totem.
The journey symbol from the woman’s womb lo her heart represents the connection between the mother and the child.
The coolamon is the vessel of life. All aboriginal women always carried a coolamon to carry food and water to nurture and hold babies as well as a digging slick for finding food.
The painting includes the symbol for Richard’s journey, the journey between life and dreaming: the living and the spirit.
