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My Fathers Seed Dreaming – Lulu Teece

“Before my father died, he told me and my sister, that if we ever painted, he wanted us to paint his dreaming. His dreaming is the seed dreaming, from his country. I paint that story, it’s important. That’s why i always paint the seed dreaming.”- Lulu Teece

Lulu has a strong passion for bush medicine and provides the community with traditional bush medicine that she makes through facilities provided by the clinic.

This painting is a strong depiction of connection to culture, family and country.

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My Fathers Country – Kathleen Nanima Rambler

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.

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Michelle Pula Holmes – My Country

“When I go out hunting I always like to see the colour in the trees, the light, the dark and the bush medicine plants growing on the sand hills. The colours change at sunrise and sunset. I like hunting and seeing my country.”

I love to paint since childhood. My paintings show my deep love for my country and the beauty I see.

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

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Gulawala pearlshell-Wandjina

Gulawala is the Pearlshell Wandjina. He came from the sweet water country and travelled to the coast. On the seaside in the saltwater he collected pearl shells and made a necklace out of it. When he travelled back to the sweet water country she showed off his beautiful pearl shell necklace.

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Sevania Kemarre Bonney – My View of Country

Sevenia was born in Soakage Bore, Utopia and started to paint when she was teenager. She learnt the way to paint landscape and bush medicine from her grandmother Eileen Bonney, a former health worker and artist.

Sevenia finds painting soothing and enjoys to share this activity with her kids so they can learn as she did with her grandmother.

 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.

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Denise Ngwarraye Bonney – My Grandmothers Country

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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Jessie Ngwarraye Ross – My Country

The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories belong.
Jessie’s landscapes beautifully communicate the rich knowledge she possesses of medicinal plants and country, the heart of her culture.
Jessie’s has painted her country, Ampilatwatja. The brightly coloured flowers and small bushes are bush medicine and are still used within the community.
Jessie’s predominant theme in her paintings is ‘strong bush medicine’, demonstrating a deep connection to her country. Her work pays homage to the significance and use of traditional bush medicine, allowing an insight into her community. Yet underneath the iridescent surface, there is an underlying sense that there is more to this landscape than meets the eye. In keeping with the religious laws, Jessie reveals only a small amount of knowledge to the uninitiated.

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Naku (canoe)

This painting depicts naku (canoes) that were made traditionally from the bark of a particular tree and used for hunting. In this painting, the Yolngu men hunting for gumang (magpie geese) eggs. 

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Wati Kutjarra

This is the story of two powerful magicians who came to the Ngaanyatjarra Lands from far away to the west;

‘These two men are always together, always camping together. They do all sorts of tricks when they travel across the lands as they stop from place to place. When they reached ‘Wirtapi Wara’ (Long Black or Blackstone Range) they argued about which way to go around. One went around the south side and the other the north side.

At a distance it seemed they didn’t recognise each other or perhaps they were just pretending not to recognise each other! It is also said that at Papulankutja they tricked each other by changing their appearance at the same time so they had no chance to recognise each other. The name Papulankutja comes from the Ngaanyatjarra word meaning, ‘to stare without recognising each other’.

‘They usually took the form of goanna but they could turn into other animals as well. Finally, when they got to Kaltukatjara (Docker River) they had become so arrogant that without realising they walked straight into some local men’s business even though they were warned by the local women. The goanna men led themselves blindly to their fate”.