November 2025

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Betty Pula Morton – My Country and Bush Medicine

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.

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Joyrene Ngwarraye Holmes – Wildflowers

When I go hunting for aker arlkerl (echidna) around the sandhills of Ampilatwatja I always spot the wild flowers and honey flowers.  We tap the Bankias against our hand and get the honey, it is sweet to taste.

 After the rain and bushfires all the new flowers pop up around me. My favourite time of the year is winter when it is cooler to walk and hunt. 

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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Kindy Kemarre Ross – Irrultja is My Country

My country is called Irrultja, it’s past the hill and the dried-up creek from here, it’s a nice place, my dad’s country too, and my Mum’s country is here in Ampilatwatja. When I go to see my country, we always go to gather bush medicine, we always climb up the hill that’s in the south, we always go there.

We like to look out over the land and there are lots of flowers and bush medicine up there. I love my countryside; I see the nice flowers and gather bush medicine for me and my family. I like to paint a mix of wildflowers and bush medicines in all my paintings because it reminds me of my favourite part of my country and when it rains the flowers come out. Yeah, my countryside.

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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Janella Kemarre Ross – Bush Flowers

These bush flowers grow seasonly in Alyawarr country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies.

When I go out hunting, I like to see all the bush flowers that are flowering and then when I come back, I paint them.

The artists 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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Bush Flowers

These bush flowers grow seasonly in Alyawarr country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies.

When I go out hunting, I like to see all the bush flowers that are flowering and then when I come back, I paint them.

The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.