This is the Jumulunj (boab tree) Peggy says, that’s for women – Ngalim ngalim-boorroo.
When women gave birth out in the bush, they would often put their placentas in the boab tree, to make the babies strong. Then that boab tree belongs to that child.
Boab trees are also an importnt food source – the roots of young trees can be eaten along with the boab nut. Peggy speaks of this often and people still eat it widely today.
“My country Alice Downs – Robin Soak Hill. they call this place Mockin Burra”
This painting shows Gordon’s country – Birnoo Country (Alice Downs Station). Birnoo is Gordon’s mother’s country. Gordon mustered cattle all throughout this country for many years – the way his father taught him to.
He became known as a skilled horsebreaker and buckjumper (rodeo rider). When Gordon worked as a stockman, he would often carry with him a saddle bag for his ochre collection. At the end of his mustering stint, he would have a bagful of ochres that he sourced from riding through his country.
He often paints the hills of Birnoo, which connects his to his mother’s country.
This is the Jumuluny (boab tree) Peggy says, that’s for women – Ngalim ngalim-boorroo.
When women gave birth out in the bush, they would often put their placentas in the boab tree, to make the babies strong. Then that boab tree belongs to that child.
Boab trees are also an importnt food source – the roots of young trees can be eaten along with the boab nut. Peggy speaks of this often and people still eat it widely today.
My country Alice Downs – Panton River – they call this place Gun Giny. White sand between two hills.
This work is inspired by a Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) story about Goorlabal the Serpent.
In the Ngarranggarni, Goorlabal travelled from One Mile in search of water. He found water in the Springvale River. He rolled on his back in the water because he was over-heated. He turned into stone and is still there today.
Goorlabal protects the waterways near Warmun, and this work shows the waterways entwined with the vertebrae of Goorlabal.
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.”
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
I paint the country of my Father and Mother and where they grew up, near Barrow Creek.
“This is the painting of my Father’s country, where I grew up. When we would go hunting, we always climbed those hills. We would take the kids hunting too and take photos of the hills.”
I use bright colours and beautiful attention to detail expresses the love and joy that I have for the country closest to my heart.
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.”
“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.