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After the Fire. Burnt Country

In the early years living out on country our ancestors walked freely from one place to another, always visiting families nearby. They knew where to go and never lost direction or place. In the season of rain and cyclones they would find shelter in the caves or build shelter from the spinifex just like a humby (baru maya). As we continue our journey there are caves that we see but never enter because of our culture and respect not to enter or go anywhere near. Once our country was so rugged hills and valleys with hidden pools lay far away. Caves were used for shelter during cyclones and big rains and still lay untouched by those who walked the land. Just left are the stories and memories that we tell our children.

Categories: Yinjaa-Barni Art

Name: Allery Sandy


Language: Yindjibarndi



Biography:

Allery Sandy is the daughter of Sandy Andrews and Lila King. She was born in Roebourne, the fourth of eleven children. She has a family of two daughters and a son - Joanne, Donna and Bobby Willis. Allery's first job was with Community Welfare selling secondhand clothing, followed by running a play group in the community for needy children. In 1986 she was employed as the Aboriginal Islander Education worker in Roebourne Pre-primary School, followed in 1990 by teaching her own Yindjibarndi language through a LOTE (Languages Other Than English) program. In 2001 she left the school and found work with a team of women doing cooking and sewing and she is also involved in the ministry of the Aboriginal Church. Allery started painting in February 2006, enrolling in short courses in painting and design. She has a natural talent that has progressed very quickly. Allery loves to paint the landscape of her country. She begins her works with an underpainting using sponge and brush work and then finishes off with a fine layer of dot work, creating a sense of movement and depth of field on the canvas. Allery has a number of subjects she likes to paint. She enjoys painting the bush seeds of her country, its creeks and rivers, wildflowers in season and trees that are specific to her Pilbara country. Allery loves to tell stories that were told to her by her father and grandfather. Her favorite style of painting her country is from an aerial perspective. Allery Sandy regularly exhibits in private galleries in Fremantle and Sydney, has won a number of prizes at the Cossack Art Awards, and is represented in public and private collections. Allery has been the Chairperson of Yinjaa-Barni Art since 2006 and is a highly respected member of the Yindjibarndi community and a passionate communicator of her culture. In 2014, Allery was both a SBS off her painting performer and Yindjibarndi language and cultural advisor for the play, "Hipbone Sticking Out". Allery has a film that is can bee seen on SBS online called Marni (My Painting Style).


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