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Seasons
Tracey Thomas
Seasons or Spinifex – Tracey Thomas
“Yellow is for the fruits when they’re ripe, and blue is for the water.
This time I’m going to do one for the hot time – like red and orangey colour for the burning.”
– Tracey Thomas
This artwork reflects the changing seasons across Country, showing how life shifts with the dry and wet. In Bidyadanga and the surrounding desert and coastal lands, the rhythm of the year guides movement, gathering, hunting, and time spent with family on Country.
As the dry season arrives, the land opens up again — red dunes, salt flats, and long beaches shining in the heat. Winds change, tides get bigger, and rangers burn Country to look after it, clearing grass, making space for new growth, and keeping the land healthy. Bush turkeys, goannas, fish, stingray, turtle, and shellfish are hunted, and families camp, share stories, and travel between desert and coast.
When the wet season return, big clouds roll in, storms build over the sea, and lightning cracks across the land. Country comes alive — water fills the waterholes and claypans, flowers and grasses grow, and birds, bush foods, and animals become abundant.
Through colour, pattern, and rhythm, the artist captures the cycle of seasons and the knowledge passed down — knowing when to gather certain foods, when animals are fat, when storms are coming, and how to care for Country through fire and everyday living. The work celebrates the constant relationship between people, weather, land, and sea, honouring the strength and continuity of cultural life.
Dimensions: 36 x 76cm
