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.
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.”
Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.
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.
My country. When I go hunting out bush, as we drive along the road towards the hill you can see the beautiful land and the flowers blooming on the side of the road, and near the hills, even the beautiful gum trees.
It makes me proud.
I paint my country where I find bush tucker and bush medicine. I am very happy when out bush hunting and gathering, it is where I feel connected to country and culture. My inspiration is from being out on the land, especially from the hunting and gathering trips where I see the different seasonal plants, bush foods and medicines, that are producing at that time and observes the ever-changing layered landscapes, it is always changing, with the light of day and the seasons of the year.
I enjoy and understand the importance of painting bush medicine plants. They help in the healing of my people and it keeps the tradition and knowledge strong. These particular plants are very plentiful after rain and can be used for numerous conditions, such as skin irritations, flu, coughs and infections.
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 as we learnt them from our parents and we teach these stories to our children.
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
I was born in Irrultja and I grew up with my mother, father and sister. My mother was the strong painter Rosie Ngwarraye Ross, and my grandmother Biddy Kemarre was a member of the Utopian Batik movement. My sister Margaret Kemarre Ross and my daughters, Rosemary, Desma and Danielle Ngwarraye Turner are all strong artists who paint and live in Ampilatwatja. We all paint the bright and beautiful wild flowers that grow here.
Irrultja is hill country and my mother and father took me hunting, we hunted kangaroo and goanna and cooked them in the fire in the shade of trees. We collected bush tucker and strong bush medicine – Arreth. We loved collecting the small delicious bush tomato and bush medicines to wash our hair and soothe our skin. I loved swimming and playing with my sister as a child.
Rosie has painted her Father’s country, where she can always find bush tucker and bush medicine. She is very happy when out bush hunting and gathering, as it brings back memories of her childhood when she used to live traditionally off of the land with her family.
Rosie uses these hunting trips as her inspiration for her artworks, each one reflecting the layered landscape and various colours as she has seen them. They are always changing, with the light of day and the seasons of the year.
Rosie enjoys and understands the importance of painting bush medicine plants. They help in the healing of her people and it keeps the tradition and knowledge strong. These particular plants are very plentiful after rain and can be used for numerous conditions, such as skin irritations, flu, coughs and infections.
Rosie’s dreaming is the Araluta or kangaroo plant. This bush is a rich source of food for the kangaroos and keeps them fat and healthy and good for hunting.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
Artists use this title when they are depicting their Country. It might be a representation of a particular place or of different aspects of that area. The artist uses a combination of colour and design to indicate variations in the landscape. Inspiration is drawn from all elements of Country and might include bush tucker, water holes, meeting places, rock formation, birds or animals.
Artists use this title when they are depicting their Country. It might be a representation of a particular place or of different aspects of that area. The artist uses a combination of colour and design to indicate variations in the landscape. Inspiration is drawn from all elements of Country and might include bush tucker, water holes, meeting places, rock formation, birds or animals.