Lake Baker

Lake Baker
Timo Hogan
2019, acrylic on linen
1370 x 1100 mm
Cat No. 19-149
Selected: Men from Spinifex Country
Spinifex Arts Project
That Wanampi (Water Serpent), Wati Wanampi (Water Serpent Man) is going back to his ngura (home). It is salty water, his home is salty water. He can't see. His eyes are no good from the salty water but he can smell. And he can smell those Wati Kutjara (Two Men). He can smell them on the other side. Other side of Lake Baker.
Timo Hogan depicts the incarnations that form the narrative for his country of Lake Baker. Lake Baker holds the WatiKutjara Tjukurpa (Two Men Creation Line) and is guarded by a powerful Wati Wanampi (Water Serpent Man) who must be appeased by ritual before approach. These are Creation beings and as such, they shaped the landscape as they moved through it. Making the indelible physical realm that exists today and attaching far reaching moral narratives to their exploits that still guide people today.