Artist: Geoffrey Woods

Region: Gnowangerup, WA

Size: 102 x 76 cm 

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Geoffrey Woods is a Noongar artist from Gnowangerup, south of Albany, and a proud Wilomin man from the south-west of Western Australia. His deep connection to Country, language and Law is at the heart of his practice, and his paintings are a continuation of the stories and cultural knowledge passed down through his family and community.

Working in a traditional yet distinctly personal style, Geoffrey’s art is grounded in the Dreaming stories of his Wilomin ancestors. He paints the forms of the land, the tracks of ancestral beings and the symbols of ceremony and kinship as they have been shared with him by tribal elders over many generations.

Geoffrey is the son of the late Jeff Roberts, a highly regarded Aboriginal artist whose work and teachings continue to shape Geoffrey’s practice. Under his father’s guidance, Geoffrey learnt not only painting skills, but also the cultural responsibilities that come with representing Noongar stories. Through his art, he honours his father’s legacy and keeps Wilomin Dreaming narratives alive, offering viewers a deeper, culturally grounded insight into Noongar life, Country and identity.

Meaning behind the work

Kangaroo in the Moonlight” by Geoffrey Woods can be read as a powerful visual story about movement through Country, the passing of time, and the deep relationship between Noongar people, animals, and the cycles of the moon. 

 A central kangaroo, painted in fine white dot work, sits calmly within an oval field of warm earth tones, symbolising both a physical creature and an ancestral presence. As a key source of food and cultural knowledge, the kangaroo represents sustenance, guidance and the way Noongar people learn to move respectfully across Country.

Around the central figure, phases of the moon are linked by walking tracks and kangaroo footprints. This circular path suggests the kangaroo is not only travelling across the land, but also journeying through lunar cycles and seasons. In Aboriginal culture, the moon is a vital marker of time, ceremony and change; by tying the kangaroo’s tracks to each phase, the painting shows how animals, people and the sky are interconnected within one living system.

The dense dot work and encircling patterns evoke the texture of the land, campsites and meeting places, creating a protective, story-filled space. “Kangaroo in the Moonlight” invites viewers to see Country as alive with tracks, memory and ancestral presence, and to understand that every footprint is part of a much older story linking Noongar people, their totems and the rhythms of the natural world.