This is my country, it’s the country around Irrultja. This is where we like to go after big rain. After big rain there, we can go swimming. There is always good hunting on my country. It is good for me to paint my country and it makes me feel good.
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
They would use the vine of this plant as rope to help carry coolamon with kids. Make like a bag and carry the kids in this.
My grandmother was called Arratherrk and her sister was calle Pwelk, the leaf of the bush banana. At Elkedra there is two vine trees and each sister is named after each one.
Beverly paints her Mother’s country. When Beverly was a child her mother took her all around her country and showed her the bush medicine and bush tucker.
The knowledge of the bush plants has been handed down through generation to generation and Beverly still spends time hunting and collecting bush medicine plants to use in everyday life. Taught by her mother and grand mother, Beverly also sings the songs of the bush medicine plants.
Beverly’s paintings are joyous and full of information regarding bush medicine plants.
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
Alec was born at McDonald Downs Station. He grew up there with his family living traditionally on the land. Alec did not attend school, he moved between different communities with his family.
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 artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
This is Maime Butler birth place. It is part of the story of that Turkey that came all the way from Walutjarra
Once in the time, when the turkey people lived in the Blackstone area the people had no fire. While all the people shivered in the winter, one young man would stand on top of the range at Walutjarra and stretch out his hands in every direction to see if he could feel some warmth. One day he did feel warmth coming from the north, he flew off in that direction hoping to find the source of the heat to bring it back to his people. He went all the way to a place north of Tjukurla where he saw people with a fire on the ground below. He stole the people’s fire by trickery but they set off after him and he was unable to return to Blackstone but had to keep flying onwards. His pursuers chased him all the way to the Great Australian Bight where he dived into the sea to escape them.
Rosie paints the land that birthed her: the sacred Winboll Rockhole, a place cradled on the far western side of Mantamaru (Jameson) a place where ancient waters sleep beneath the earth and stories from time immemorial breathe through the stones.
Rosie brings to life the rhythm of her birthplace, a land where sunlight dances upon the rocks and whispers of ancestors float on the wind. Her work is a glimpse into the heart of Winboll Rockhole, a land woven with mystery.
This is Maime Butler birth place. It is part of the story of that Turkey that came all the way from Walutjarra
Once in the time, when the turkey people lived in the Blackstone area the people had no fire. While all the people shivered in the winter, one young man would stand on top of the range at Walutjarra and stretch out his hands in every direction to see if he could feel some warmth. One day he did feel warmth coming from the north, he flew off in that direction hoping to find the source of the heat to bring it back to his people. He went all the way to a place north of Tjukurla where he saw people with a fire on the ground below. He stole the people’s fire by trickery but they set off after him and he was unable to return to Blackstone but had to keep flying onwards. His pursuers chased him all the way to the Great Australian Bight where he dived into the sea to escape them.
‘Kungkarrangkalpa’ (The Seven Sisters or Pleaides) is significant Tjukurrpa (dreamtime). Its origins you may be familiar with in astronomy and its connection to ‘Wati Nyiru’ (Magic Man or Orion). The roots of this dreaming stems across indigenous groups around the world. The Australian Aboriginal songline is one part to the whole dreaming which can be traced all around the world. The ladies of the Ngaanyatjarra Lands depict their significant chapter and understanding of the journey of the sisters. The different versions of this story depend on where you live and the significance’s of local Tjukurrpa places.
Nyiru fell in love with the sisters but he was of the wrong skin group to marry, but he still pursued them on their journey. The sisters travel across the land to escape Nyiru’s unwanted attentions, but he is persistent and always finds them. There are significant land forms which can be sited today that evidence this dreaming. As Nyiru is chasing the sisters he tries to catch them by using magic to turn into the most tempting kampurarrpa (bush tomato) and the most beautiful Yirli (wild fig tree), for them to eat and camp under. However, the sisters are knowledgeable of his magic and too clever for Nyiru who they outwit again and again. They go hungry and run through the night rather than be caught by him. As the journey continues, Nyiru gets so frustrated at the wit of the sisters that he uses his magic to make the oldest sister sick to try and get closer to her. The other sisters rescue the big sister and nurse her back to health. It is said he also captures the youngest sister, but with the help of the oldest sister, she escapes back to her sisters who are waiting for her. Eventually, the sisters fly into the sky to escape Nyiru, forming the constellation. Nyiru felt lonely, longing for the sisters who were so far away. Nyiru used his magic to go to the sky, forever in pursuit.
This painting maps the site of ‘Kuru Ala’ (two-eyes), a sacred place for women in Angilyiya’s mother’s country south of Papulankutja (Blackstone). Wati Nyiru was following them, disguising himself as a Quandong tree, a Yirli (wild fig tree), and then a carpet snake, spying on them as they made camp and dug for food.
“This is the story about my Grandmother’s country, south of Papulankutja. You can see today the circles at the site in the cave from that Dreamtime story. It’s the young girls turning into young women. The bigger circles are those already women. They have been travelling for food and they saw that man had already taken the big sister. So they are taking her to the second cave for resting and getting better. You can see that man sitting; the rock hole down the bottom “Kuru Ala”, they drank that water in the early days. We still drink this water today”.
This is Maime Butler birth place. It is part of the story of that Turkey that came all the way from Walutjarra
Once in the time, when the turkey people lived in the Blackstone area the people had no fire. While all the people shivered in the winter, one young man would stand on top of the range at Walutjarra and stretch out his hands in every direction to see if he could feel some warmth. One day he did feel warmth coming from the north, he flew off in that direction hoping to find the source of the heat to bring it back to his people. He went all the way to a place north of Tjukurla where he saw people with a fire on the ground below. He stole the people’s fire by trickery but they set off after him and he was unable to return to Blackstone but had to keep flying onwards. His pursuers chased him all the way to the Great Australian Bight where he dived into the sea to escape them.
This painting shows the design of her father Reggie Jackson’s male Tjara (shields). The shapes move across the canvas and then down again the way Reggie always marked them. “This is my mark,” he would say. Katherine paints this design to carry his legacy forward. Reggie was born north of Blackstone and grew up around Mantamaru, living between both places. As one of the founding artists at Irrunytju, he was known for his vivid colours, broad brushstrokes, and the way he’d sing Tjukurrpa as he worked. A true bush man, strong in Law, full of humour, and devoted to his family. By painting his Tjara design, Katherine keeps his story alive.