50 AM 7463/10
Leigh Oates Seal Hides 2010
Acrylic on cotton 610 x 910mm $920
This painting represents an area on the west coast of Tasmania from Preminghana and south down along the coast. This area was a
popular hunting ground and signs can be still seen today of how food was caught, prepared and eaten.

The white shapes represent the stones where the old fellas would make their seal hides. The dark area with the hand stencils inside
represent the seal hides themselves. This is where they would remove the stones to make a pit so they could hide in out of sight from the
seals. When the seals fell asleep in the warm sun they would sneak up out of the hides and club the seals for food.
The sea is represented by the blue area separating the two white areas of stone. The nine shapes in the painting are just some of the
petroglyphs found in this area and they are an extremely important part of Aboriginal people’s connection to the past and are some of the
oldest engravings found anywhere in the world.