Women talking about collecting bush food – where the best places are and the best times, whether seasonal or dependent on rain events – All the women sit with their digging sticks and piti’s [coolamons] around the hearth to talk about these aspects of collecting bush food.
Tali (Sandhills) at Mutijulu. my Grandfather’s country is Mutijulu, community close to Uluru, where I have painted these Tali (Sandhills). Tali is everywhere around there, vibrant orange and red. Lots of native flowers growing on the Tali.
All Aboriginal people originate from a spiritual source, fixed in a particular place in their land or the sea. These ‘spiritual reservoirs’ are often in the form of special waterholes made by Wangarr (creative spirits) that were created long ago close to the beginning of time. These creator beings moved across the countryside, shaping the land and implanting in each tract of country, the spiritual life force for the people who were to own it. These creative spirits took many forms and when they gave the land to each group, they also gave songs, dances, ceremony, the associated laws and language.
The creation story for Ganalbingu people took place near the middle section of the Glyde River where it becomes the Goyder River. Their land, Ngaliyindi, sits astride the Arafura Swamp in Central Arnhem Land. Many Ganalbingu artists paint totemic species significant to their clan. These can include baru (crocodile), banda (long necked turtle), buliya (catfish), yalman (waterlilies), gumang (magpie geese), dakawa (fresh water yabby), ratjuk (barramundi), warrnyu (flying fox) and more.
Yolngu have complex, interconnected family structures spanning across Arnhem Land and this is the inspiration for Mary’s weaving. Mary has joined individual pieces together, to create a piece that represents and reflects her familial connections, bonds and interdependence. Her interconnected weaving represents a family portrait.
The weaving format and styles originate from the Yolngu Nation’s traditional Nganiyal (conical mats) which have ritual, ceremonial and practical significance within their cultural lives. The patterns, colours and designs are unique to each artist and comprise of differing techniques, often learned from their grandmothers through the manual transference of skills ranging from places to gather bush materials, techniques on how to harvest and prepare the pandanus, sourcing natural materials such as roots, leaves and barks for the dyeing process. Over time, and especially in the case of Mary, she has advanced her own artistry, craftsmanship and aesthetics from her continual making, experimenting and refining.
This one is Central Desert duck, but they living everywhere in Australia. It’s meat for us Western Aranda people. It’s in nesting time for them. They mother teach the little babies to get food, fish, maybe frog, I don’t know what they eat!
Yolŋu weavers of Arnhem Land create utilitarian, ceremonial, and decorative pieces using naturally sourced materials. This mat is made from young Pandanus spiralis leaves, harvested with a wooden hook, stripped of prickles, and dried to create strong, resilient fibres. These fibres are then twisted, coiled, or woven using traditional techniques to produce both functional and decorative mats.
Bula’bula weavers exclusively use natural dyes, derived from locally sourced roots, leaves and grasses. These pigments are extracted and infused into pandanus fibres by boiling over an open fire, producing the rich, vibrant colours characteristic of contemporary Yolŋu weavings.
Traditionally, Nganiyal (conical mats) functioned as insect screens when erected and as seating mats when folded, playing an important role in both daily life and ceremonial practices. Today, Yolŋu artists create a variety of shapes, including flat, round, and oblong mats. These non-traditional styles and the use of bright colours became more common after Missionaries began commissioning pieces in this style.
The Country Bluebell is one of the common flowers growing on the edges of the river bank and around the edge of hillsides. It also grows in open plains country.
This artwork shows the flowers blooming in the Spring, showing it’s beauty. There are sturt peas, mulla mulla and bluebells.
Emily is one of Yinjaa-Barni Art’s emerging artists. Emily painted this artwork after returning to Country on an art centre camp to Millstream. She collected natural pigments from Millstream crossing and ground the rock down to natural pigment using a flat rock as a surface and a round rock as a tool. This is Emily’s first foray into painting with natural pigments. The artwork represents people gathering from the Country going to the waterhole.
