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Published by on July 18, 2023

Emu Seed

In this painting the artist has depicted the pods of a shrub which is common in the Pilbara area. It is a smallish bush which comes into seed in September, when the Emu is visible in the Milky Way. This is the time the emu chicks hatch and it is one of their main sources of food. When the pod opens the emu parents feed the little black seeds to their chicks. The seed pod, which is about the size and shape of a cockroach, turns from orange to yellow, so when all the bushes are in pod at different stages, there is a brilliant display of orange and yellow colours throughout the country. The official name of this annual shrub is Senna notabilis, but, due to the oblong, flat shape and the glossy golden brown colour of its pods, it is commonly known as Cockroach Bush. It has a little round fruit, a berry that starts off green and turns red when it is ripe, but it’s poisonous. The shrub starts off as a light green colour and then, as it matures, it gets darker. The flowers are a yellowy orange and they, too, get darker with a bit of black as they are fading away.

Categories: Yinjaa-Barni Art

Name: Allery Sandy

Language: Yindjibarndi

Biography:

Allery Sandy is the daughter of Sandy Andrews and Lila King. She was born in Roebourne, the fourth of eleven children. She has a family of two daughters and a son - Joanne, Donna and Bobby Willis. Allery's first job was with Community Welfare selling secondhand clothing, followed by running a play group in the community for needy children. In 1986 she was employed as the Aboriginal Islander Education worker in Roebourne Pre-primary School, followed in 1990 by teaching her own Yindjibarndi language through a LOTE (Languages Other Than English) program. In 2001 she left the school and found work with a team of women doing cooking and sewing and she is also involved in the ministry of the Aboriginal Church. Allery started painting in February 2006, enrolling in short courses in painting and design. She has a natural talent that has progressed very quickly. Allery loves to paint the landscape of her country. She begins her works with an underpainting using sponge and brush work and then finishes off with a fine layer of dot work, creating a sense of movement and depth of field on the canvas. Allery has a number of subjects she likes to paint. She enjoys painting the bush seeds of her country, its creeks and rivers, wildflowers in season and trees that are specific to her Pilbara country. Allery loves to tell stories that were told to her by her father and grandfather. Her favorite style of painting her country is from an aerial perspective. Allery Sandy regularly exhibits in private galleries in Fremantle and Sydney, has won a number of prizes at the Cossack Art Awards, and is represented in public and private collections. Allery has been the Chairperson of Yinjaa-Barni Art since 2006 and is a highly respected member of the Yindjibarndi community and a passionate communicator of her culture. In 2014, Allery was both a SBS off her painting performer and Yindjibarndi language and cultural advisor for the play, "Hipbone Sticking Out".Allery has a film that is can bee seen on SBS on line called Marni (My Painting Style)

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