Wandjuk Marika was born around 1927, the eldest son of great artist and ritual leader Mawalan. As the eldest son of the Rirratjingu clan leader, Wandjuk was given special instruction in ritual law and painting by his father. In documentation from April 2006 by Mawalan II, the artist’s eldest son, Wandjuk Marika said of this work:
Around the edges of the lagoon/river are the tracks made by the snake. The hatching immediately around the edge of the oval shape and at the top and bottom of the work is the water grass. The hatching on all extremities of the painting is the rain falling down.