July 2024

220982280192

Bush Medicine Plants

“Bush medicine plants are used for healing on the body and for drinking. We make this by smashing the plants with a rock, we use the juice and the fibre of the plant.

We collect bush medicine plants when we are out hunting. Different kinds of plants grow during different seasons.

There are lots of different medicines, we know what their stories are, we learnt them from our parents and we teach these stories to our children.”

Bush medicine knowledge is still strong in Ampilatwatja, it continues to be passed down to the younger generations and is widely used.


When the women go hunting they often gather bush medicine. The plants depicted here are found in the country around Ampilatwatja, they are used for soothing skin infections and to make a drink to help with colds and coughs.


Painting bush medicine stories is important because it helps to maintain a strong knowledge and culture for the community.

By CompNet Systems, ago

220982280711

Bush Medicine Plants

“Bush medicine plants are used for healing on the body and for drinking. We make this by grinding the plants with a rock, we use the juice and the fibre of the plant.

We collect bush medicine plants when we are out hunting. Different kinds of plants grow during different seasons.

There are lots of different medicines, we know what their stories are, we learnt them from our parents and we teach these stories to our children.”

Bush medicine knowledge is still strong in Ampilatwatja, it continues to be passed down to the younger generations and is widely used.


When the women go hunting they often gather bush medicine. The plants depicted here are found in the country around Ampilatwatja, they are used for soothing skin infections and to make a drink to help with colds and coughs.


Painting bush medicine stories is important because it helps to maintain a strong knowledge and culture for the community.

By CompNet Systems, ago

220982281013

View Of Country

The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories, the artists paint their country where those stories sit.

This painting shows the layered landscape of Alyawarr, Central Australia. Knowing your country is an important part of living in a remote community like Ampilatwatja. Knowing when and where to go hunting and gathering, knowing where there is ‘soakage’ (where you can dig for water), travelling with family for ceremonies, and maintaining a connection with the land.

“This is my country, my view of country.”

By CompNet Systems, ago

220982280946

My Country – Diane Kemarre Ross

The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories sit.

“This is my country, it’s the country around Irrultja. This is where we like to go after big rain. After big rain there, we can go swimming. There is always good hunting on my country. It is good for me to paint my country and it makes me feel good.” – Dianne

By CompNet Systems, ago

220982280944

My Fathers Country

“This is my Father’s country.

This country provides many bush foods for my people.

Painting my country helps to keep the country very strong for current and future generations of Alyawarr people.”

By CompNet Systems, ago

220982280943

Flowers and Fairies – Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney

“This painting is of my Mother’s Country, where the ‘enookecha’ (kunga berry) trees grow.

After the rain the ‘enookecha’ come out, the rain makes the flowers and seeds fall to the ground and then the fairies come.
They are sweet, good fairies that live in the ‘enookecha’ trees and they come after the rain. When we go out we can feel them there.” – Elizabeth

By CompNet Systems, ago

220982280940

Women’s Ceremony and Bush Medicine – Colleen Morton

The layers of Colleen’s paintings are as detailed and complex as the stories she paints.

Colleen’s painting represents a ceremony that is performed by the women in the community. It involves dance, signing and painting the body in ochre, to celebrate their country and their understanding of bush medicine.

The use of the bush medicine and the edible seeds that come in an assortment of colours, are depicted in many of Colleen’s paintings.

This painting is about singing to country, singing the bush medicine in to existence, maintaining it and where to find it.

By CompNet Systems, ago

221382281233

Woven Dragonfly

This finely crafted hand woven dragonfly is a cheerful reminder of the real dry season dragonflies.

Signalling in the dry season, dragonflies are ubiquitous with dry winds, cool nights and saying goodbye to the wet season! Our ridiculously talented pandanus artists are continuing to push their skills and techniques with these cute dragonflies a fine example of this. Each are unique, hand woven and coloured using natural bush dyes.

Pandanus fibre art is labour intensive requiring a high level of care and fine needlework. Finished works are both functional and beautiful. Women collect pandanus by pulling from the top of a pandanus tree, stripping then dying the leaves using natural bush colour.

By CompNet Systems, ago

221382281226

Woven Dragonfly

This finely crafted hand woven dragonfly is a cheerful reminder of the real dry season dragonflies.

Signalling in the dry season, dragonflies are ubiquitous with dry winds, cool nights and saying goodbye to the wet season! Our ridiculously talented pandanus artists are continuing to push their skills and techniques with these cute dragonflies a fine example of this. Each are unique, hand woven and coloured using natural bush dyes.

Pandanus fibre art is labour intensive requiring a high level of care and fine needlework. Finished works are both functional and beautiful. Women collect pandanus by pulling from the top of a pandanus tree, stripping then dying the leaves using natural bush colour.

By CompNet Systems, ago

221382281215

Woven Dragonfly

This finely crafted hand woven dragonfly is a cheerful reminder of the real dry season dragonflies.

Signalling in the dry season, dragonflies are ubiquitous with dry winds, cool nights and saying goodbye to the wet season! Our ridiculously talented pandanus artists are continuing to push their skills and techniques with these cute dragonflies a fine example of this. Each are unique, hand woven and coloured using natural bush dyes.

Pandanus fibre art is labour intensive requiring a high level of care and fine needlework. Finished works are both functional and beautiful. Women collect pandanus by pulling from the top of a pandanus tree, stripping then dying the leaves using natural bush colour.

By CompNet Systems, ago