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Pilkati anta rumiya (Snake and goanna)


Snake this one, eating, here, at the water. This mob over there are stabbing it with a spear. He’s trying to bite and eat that one over there. And that over there is coming to look at him, that one. This one, he’s watching, he is, ‘ooohhh!’, sneaking up intending to bite it. That one over there …
he bit him, that goanna yep, this one.
Coming to here, coming through the bush to the water, ‘ooohhh!’, they see it! ‘What happened here?’
Over there, a goanna is coming along. Going, going into the bush, across the water, sneaking up to try and bite it.
Yeah, this one, two men standing, over there is another, there watching all this the snake,
see? And see this line … he’s slowly sneaking along it.

After that, that one over there stabs him with a spear, with a spear he stabbed. Went and got that goanna and ate it, over there came and see all this mob.


Yeah, finished like that, that’s how I made this one by the water.

Name: Doris Bush Nungarrayi


Language: Luritja


Community: Papunya


Biography:

Doris Bush was born in Haasts Bluff/Ikuntji circa 1942 and was married to the late George Bush Tjangala, one of Papunya Tula Artists’ original shareholders. In the mid 1980’s the family went to live on an outstation at Nyunmanu in Doris’ mother’s country out towards the WA/NT border. Doris continues to paint Nyunmanu and the traditional Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) of this place, Dingo Dreaming.

Doris also paints vivid memories, stories and dreams from her life, with her work often telling happy stories from her early days in Ikuntji; eating, hunting and swimming with her friends and family in the bush. Doris’ works embody her nature of a true storyteller with her expressive style, bold use of colour and recognisable motifs. Doris is renowned as one of the most prolific and enthusiastic artists in the community and is usually the first to arrive each morning when - or even before - the doors open.

Finalist in the Wynne Prize at the AGNSW (2023), TELSTRA National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (2020, 2021, 2022), Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize (2019) and shortlisted in the Alice Art Prize (2018), her work is held in the Artbank Collection, Macquarie Bank Collection, University of Western Sydney Collection, The Hassall Collection, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, and private collections internationally. Doris was the winner of the 2023 Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. 


© the artist / art centre