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Antarrengeny – Edie Kemarre Holmes
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories sit. Antarrengeny is Edie’s country and also her Father’s.
In this painting Edie depicts Antarrengeny, “when there has been no rain and the land shimmers like jewels. It is the open flat country, after a bushfire, when only the young grasses and the trees are growing and where there is good hunting.”
Edie has a strong connection to Antarrengeny. She gave birth to two of her daughters ‘out bush’ on this land. It is her country and she loves it dearly.
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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.”
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My Mothers Country – Eileen Bonney
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
Eileen has painted ‘Tijamburra’, her mothers country.
“This is my mothers country, we go hunting there for wild onions, goannas, echidnas and sugarbag honey in the trees. I like to hunt there, there’s water all year round. Even if it doesn’t look like there is, we follow the bird tracks to know where to dig and we find water.”
From living here in the remote community of Ampilatwatja, going hunting out bush and traveling for family and ceremonies Eileen knows this land, her country.
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My Grandmothers Country-Elizabeth Ngwarra Bonney
I still hunt my Grand Mothers country for goanna, bush medicine and yams.
I hunt all year round, hunting and walking through the country makes me happy. When I look at the distant hills I can feel my grandmother. Bush flowers are everywhere.
Painting my grandmother’s country reminds about those times.
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My Grandmothers Country – Denise Ngwarraye Bonney
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories belong.
Denise paints ‘Tijamburra’, her Grandmothers country.
“This is my Mothers Mothers country, out near Canteen Creek, we go hunting for wild onions, goannas, echidnas and sugar bag honey in the trees. I like to hunt in my country, there is water all year round even if it look dry, we follow the bird tracks to know where to dig and then we find water.
This painting is after rain, many grasses are out, but the riverbed is still sandy.”
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Great Grandmothers Country – Gunderson Kemarre Lewis
I paint my Great Grandmothers country around Canteen Creek. Long time ago she hunted around this soakage in this country. When I paint, I paint that country, the soakage the bushflowers the sandhills and the distant mountains. I hunt this country now.
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Bush Tucker – Maisie Petyarre Bundey;-
Maisie paints the bush tucker found in her country, the area that surrounds Boundary Bore in the Utopia homelands. She paints bush plums, bush bananas, bush potatoes and bush medicine plants. The main motif which recurs often in Maisie artworks is a full coolamon. When she paints she always speaks of gathering and hunting on her country ‘long way from here, long time ago’, filling up coolamons with ‘bush potato, bush banana, goanna and porcupine.’ Maisie always says her family are ‘happy ones, healthy ones.’
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My Country – Alana Ngwarraye Holmes
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. I paint because I enjoy painting. My Mother, Edie Holmes let us paint with her when we where young and now we paint all the time. We still paint and talk together in a family group with our kids.” – Alana
Alana has painted her country after rain where the ground may seem dry but the flowers and trees are green and growing strong.
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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.