13 AM 5836/08
Leigh Oates Seal Hides 2008
Acrylic on Galacia linen 680 x 530mm SOLD
This painting represents an area on the west coast of Tasmania where seals were hunted. The white circles are a
representation of an area where the old fellas would hunt, they would move the stones to make hides (an area
where the stones have been moved to make a pit so the hunters could hide out of sight) and they would wait in
these hides until the seals came up onto the rocks to bathe in the sun. When the seals fell asleep they would
creep up out of their hides and club them for food.
The five sections with the smaller red earth circles represent the hides themselves, the club can been seen in the
bottom of the hide.
The red earth line through the centre represents the mark made when the seals where dragged away from the
waters edge. The yellow between the rocks represents the sand.
The seal hides and drag marks can still be seen today.