In this painting, Yinggarda Wadjarri artist Sonya Edney paints Cattle Pool, a constant body of water that lies at the base of Mount Augustus. Growing up, Sonya and her family would swim and fish at Cattle Pool. Sonya relates: “This is a sacred place. Before you swim in the water, or take from the land, you gather some sand and throw it into the water to tell the ancestors you are there. It is a sign of respect. I remember back in 2020, I was at Edithana Pool, and I called out to the ancestors there. I threw sand in to the water, and moments after, a wind came rushing through the air on an otherwise hot, still day. The wind came and the water was still. It was the spirits communicating.”

$5100