By Samantha Wortelhock
Original Painting and Limited Edition Giclee Print Size: 560 x 710mm (22.5" x 28.5")

In the Lap of the Gods

Young Lightning brothers left this Earth long ago
They travelled far away to become stars in the night

They were alive here as men on Australia's vast ancient land
Until Creation Dog's ear was cut

Then a transformation occurred and doubt fixed their form as their ceremonial guise became real
So every man's totem was born be it wallaby, lizard or seal.

The Lightning brothers themselves were initiated in to the Great Stellar Family Above
Leaving behind a blueprint, a legacy, a memory of all that was.

So our babies are born and each one is given their ancestor's totem to have
One they cannot hunt
One who looks down from the stars
One who teaches a trinity of love.

The Story Behind The Painting
For years I had the idea to paint a painting of Kangaroos with my sons in their pouches...point being that we need our wildlife and our wildlife needs us. Simple enough message. However, when I had to be briefed for two commissioned paintings about the Aboriginal songlines which appear in the night sky and how each star is a creature which in turn is an ancestor of the people I realised that my children had to stand aside for this painting. By putting Aboriginal babies in the pouches of the Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies meant that they were literally in the Laps of their Gods. This painting is amongst a new collection of works which we hope to launch; a collection whose purpose is to extend a hand of understanding, a tool of interpretation and learning between the world of black Australian and white. My learning, as little as it has been, has given me a glimpse of a way of looking at the world which is exciting, multidimensional and spiritually charged.