Meet our quirky Australian camp dogs
Craig Koomeeta, Wik-Alkan people, Queensland, Australia b.1977 / Dingo 2002 / Carved milkwood with synthetic polymer paint / 41.5 x 62.5 x 15cm / Purchased 2002. QAG Foundation Grant / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Craig Koomeeta / View full image
Come in and meet our collection of 'camp dogs' currently on display and appreciate their peculiar charm. Dogs are a prominent fixture in almost all Aboriginal communities throughout Australia. For places like Aurukun, situated in dingo country on the northwest coast of the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, a dog is not ‘just a dog’ but an ancestral force of extraordinary potency akin to its native counterpart, also playing a role in the social and emotional life of the community.
These dogs dominate the landscape: roaming the streets in packs; individuals lying in the shade, seeking respite from the midday heat; and by the evening, seeking out their owners, wherever you go, chances are that a dog will be nearby. Coming in all shapes and sizes, dingoes, and mixes of the native dog and any number of other breeds, these four-legged friends are given the collective colloquial name ‘camp dogs’ and, in the case of Aurukun, have the language name ‘Ku’.
Camp dogs are loved by their owners and communities, with each individual having a larger-than-life personality, often well-known to most of the people in town, and cared for by multiple households. The expression ‘Three-dog night’ is a desert country phrase that refers to a night that is so bitterly cold that three dogs are needed in your bed to keep warm — two dogs for a cold night, but three for a freezing one. The term exemplifies the depth of human–canine companionship and relationships.
Roderick Yunkaporta Scratching ku' (camp dog) 2010
Roderick Yunkaporta, Wik-Mungkan people, Queensland, Australia b.1948 / Scratching ku' (camp dog) 2010 / Carved milkwood (Alstonia muellerana) with natural pigments, charcoal and acrylic binder / 59 x 74 x 38cm / Purchased 2010 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Roderick Yunkaporta / View full image
Craig Koomeeta Dingo 2002
Craig Koomeeta, Wik-Alkan people, Queensland, Australia b.1977 / Dingo 2002 / Carved milkwood with synthetic polymer paint / 41.5 x 62.5 x 15cm / Purchased 2002. QAG Foundation Grant / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Craig Koomeeta / View full image
Jack Bell Ku' (Camp dog) 2010
Jack Bell, Wik-Mungkan people, Queensland, Australia b.1950 / Ku' (Camp dog) 2010 / Carved milkwood (Alstonia muellerana) with synthetic polymer paint / 39 x 70 x 16cm / Purchased 2010 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Jack Bell / View full image
Garry Namponan Yellow-patched camp dog 2006
Garry Namponan, Wik-Alkan/Wik-Ngatharr people, Queensland, Australia b.1960 / Yellow-patched camp dog 2006 / Carved milkwood with natural pigments and synthetic polymer paint / 86 x 50 x 30cm / Purchased 2007. QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Garry Namponan / View full image
David Marpoondin Ku' (Camp dog) 2010
David Marpoondin, Wik-Ngathan/Wik-Me'an people, Queensland, Australia b.1968 / Ku' (Camp dog) 2010 / Carved milkwood (Alstonia muellerana) with natural pigments, charcoal, synthetic polymer paint and acrylic binder / 33 x 33 x 15cm / Purchased 2010 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © David Marpoondin / View full image
Lena Yarinkura Jamu (dog) 2003
Lena Yarinkura, Kune/Rembarrnga people, Australia b.1961 / Jamu (dog) 2003; 7 parts:42 x 108 x 33cm (complete) / Jamu (dog) 2003; 7 parts:50 x 102 x 28cm (complete) / Jamu (dog) 2003; 7 parts: 62 x 122.5 x 58cm (complete) / Jamu (dog) 2003; 15 parts:72 x 163 x 45cm (complete) / Purchased 2004.QAG Foundation Grant / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Lena Yarinkura /Copyright Agency / View full image
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA)
Brisbane, Australia