Paintings are manifestations of the ancestral forces inherent in the land, and embodied in the people themselves. As Matjuwi says of his paintings 'this is me'. In Yolngu paintings nature is transformed into art through complex imagery. In Gumatj law the natural history of the crocodile, and its power, are linked to fire and this connection is evoked in Gumatj art through figurative and aesthetic form. The crocodile brought fire to Biranybirany on Caledon Bay, and from there fire blazed across the country just as the crocodile rushes to seize its victim.
Fire is represented in the striking diamond designs that characterise Gumatj paintings.
The red tongues of flame that shoot out, the blackened charcoal of the burnt wood, the showers of sparks, and clouds of smoke are evoked by the painted and crosshatched diamonds. Fire is an analogue for the fierceness of the crocodile, and it is easy to imagine the fear generated by both through the searing sharpness of the clan design. There is a symbolic symbiosis between the Gumatj and the crocodile. It is only in preparation for conflict that the Gumatj will kill and eat crocodile, on other occasions they are its guardians. Individual paintings represent different ancestral events associated with the journey of the crocodile ancestor and the spread of fire.