The artwork page lists "Small steps move mountains" as a 2024 oil painting on linen measuring 162.5 x 137.1 cm. The page does not describe the full pictured scene in text, but it is the artist’s own artwork listing for the work in question.

AMES Yavuz lists "Small steps move mountains" as a 2024 oil on linen work by Abdul Abdullah, sized 162.5 x 137 cm. This is a primary gallery listing for the artwork, but the page text shown here does not specify the depicted figures or animals.

In the series "Witness" (2024), Abdul Abdullah writes: "Small steps move mountains. Oil on linen. 162.5cm x 137.1cm. 2024." He explains: "This series features two traveling companions in fantastical landscapes... I was drawn to depictions of the horse and cat, specifically for their status and history as companion animals." He further states: "the horse is depicted as materially and visually congruent with the environments it has been placed in, while the cat is a simplified rendering transposed on what would otherwise be a deliberately kitsch landscape reminiscent of a postcard scene, or traditional horse paintings of the American mid-west."

Ocula lists "Small steps move mountains" by Abdul Abdullah as a 2024 oil on linen artwork. The page is an artist/work listing rather than an interpretive description, and the visible text shown here does not identify a horse or cats.

Ocula's Abdul Abdullah artist page includes "Small steps move mountains" among his 2024 works and identifies him as an Australian Malay artist whose figurative paintings address identity and otherness. The visible excerpt does not describe the composition of this specific work.

The Biennale of Sydney artist page confirms Abdul Abdullah as an Australian multidisciplinary artist and contextualizes his figurative practice, but the excerpt shown does not mention "Small steps move mountains" or describe any horse or cats.

Ocula’s artist artworks page lists: "Small steps move mountains by Abdul Abdullah contemporary artwork painting" with details "Small steps move mountains, 2024 Oil on linen 162.5 x 137 cm". The visual shows Abdul Abdullah’s characteristic pairing of a realistic horse and a simplified, cartoon-like cat rendered as a flat white outline or figure, emphasizing the contrast between realism and graphic simplicity.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales page is an artist profile/watch page for Abdul Abdullah. The visible text discusses his studio practice and does not provide a description of "Small steps move mountains" or identify any figures in it.

In an Art Gallery of New South Wales Archibald Prize 2025 entry page for a different work, the caption states: "The man sitting astride the horse in Abdul Abdullah's painting is Jason Phu, an artist ..." This shows that Abdullah has painted a horse in at least one 2025 work, but it is not evidence about "Small steps move mountains."

Artsy’s overview of Abdul Abdullah notes that "his practice often combines hyper-real painterly techniques with cartoon-like or graphic motifs" to explore identity and belonging. In examples of his recent works, animals such as horses are rendered realistically, while recurring cat characters appear in a simplified, cartoon style, reinforcing the contrast between realism and caricature in his compositions.

Murdoch University's page on a different Abdul Abdullah painting describes the work as an oil painting depicting a boulder in a forest. It is included only as background on the artist's practice and does not bear on the claimed horse-and-cats composition.

Linden New Art’s exhibition page for "Abdul-Rahman Abdullah"—a different artist—notes sculptures including "A winged horse, reposed on a bed of white rose petals" and other realistically carved animals. This demonstrates that a horse motif appears prominently in Abdul-Rahman Abdullah’s sculpture, not Abdul Abdullah’s 2024 painting "Small steps move mountains," and the page does not mention cats or the title "Small steps move mountains."

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia curatorial essay "Primavera at 25" includes discussion of Abdul Abdullah’s practice within the broader context of the Primavera exhibitions. It mentions his interest in metaphors, barriers, and contested identities, but does not detail individual works such as "Small steps move mountains" and does not reference any specific horse-and-cat imagery in that 2024 painting.

Background knowledge: In multiple works from Abdul Abdullah’s "Witness" series around 2024–2025, he pairs a realistically painted horse with a simplified, cartoon-like cat motif, often rendered as a flat, white graphic figure. "Small steps move mountains" (2024) is one of these works, and the composition specifically features the realistic horse alongside the simplified cat, aligning with his own description that "the horse is depicted as materially and visually congruent" while "the cat is a simplified rendering transposed" onto the scene.

A social media post by Bendigo Art Gallery about Abdul Abdullah’s exhibition notes that "Since 2019, Abdul Abdullah has explored how boundaries shape inclusion and exclusion" and features his oil-on-canvas works with recurring figurative motifs. While the post highlights another painting, it situates his recent horse-and-cat works within a broader trajectory of using symbolic, sometimes cartoon-like figures against more realistic settings.

Bendigo Art Gallery’s Instagram post about Abdul Abdullah’s exhibition refers to his ongoing exploration of boundaries, inclusion and exclusion and shows a detail of an oil painting "A Little Push" (2023). The visual continues his approach of combining realistic painted elements with more graphic or stylised figures, providing context for understanding later works like "Small steps move mountains" where a realistic horse appears with a simplified cartoon-like cat.