Woman Collecting Honey Ants, Bush Plums and Hunting Sand Goanna
Lanita Numina
93x72cm

Artist name: Lanita Numina
Community: North Utopia Central Desert
Materials: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 93cm by 72cm
Year: 2026

Artwork Story:

Woman Collecting Honey Ants, Bush Plums and Hunting Sand Goanna depicts women travelling across Country gathering important bush foods that grow naturally throughout the desert landscape. For many Aboriginal families, knowledge of where to find honey ants, bush plums and sand goanna has been passed down through generations, forming an essential part of life on Country.

Honey ants are found beneath the sandy soils and are carefully dug from the ground using digging sticks. Bush plums grow seasonally on native shrubs, while sand goanna are tracked across the sandhills and hunted as a valued source of food. These foods provide nourishment and are gathered with deep knowledge of the land and its seasonal cycles.

In the painting, layered dotting and flowing patterns represent the journeys women take as they move across Country collecting bush tucker. Circular forms often indicate places where food is found or where women gather together to rest, share stories and pass on knowledge to younger generations.

The artwork celebrates the strength of women and the important role they play in maintaining cultural knowledge, caring for Country, and continuing traditional practices that connect people, land and community.

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