Paintings of Rainbow Serpents and other big creatures of Awunbarna, Northern Territory, Australia

Across western Arnhem Land there was an increase in the production of exceptionally large paintings of animals, humans and Ancestral Beings, including Rainbow Serpents, at rock art sites in recent times. After reviewing examples painted in the 1800s and early 1900s throughout western Arnhem Land, we focus on previously undescribed instances at sites in northwest Arnhem Land. These include recently documented Rainbow Serpent rock paintings from Awunbarna, along with rare recent paintings of a whale, a giant and other large paintings made after contact with Europeans. A unique Rainbow Serpent stone arrangement is also described. The question of why huge paintings became common recently in the rock art record of western Arnhem Land is then addressed. It is concluded that the production of Rainbow Serpents and large paintings of other important Ancestral Beings, animals and humans was in response to cultural change brought about by Europeans visiting and settling in Aboriginal Country and that it was a way of reasserting power over changing cultural landscapes in challenging times.