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Published by on June 8, 2025

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 a proud Yindjibarndi woman, daughter of Sandy Andrews and Lila King. She was born in Roebourne, the fourth of eleven children and has two daughters and a son. Allery's first job was with Community Welfare selling second-hand clothing, followed by running a play group in the community for local 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 Pilbara Aboriginal Church.

Allery started painting in February 2006, enrolling in short courses in painting and design. She loves to paint the landscape of her Country from an aerial perspective. 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 also loves depicting the wildflowers of her Country. She enjoys painting the bush seeds, its creeks and rivers, wildflowers in season and trees that are specific to her Pilbara Country. Her style continues to expand and more recently she has started painting aerial landscapes with fine line work on Pilbara earth.

Allery regularly exhibits in galleries around the country and her works are enjoyed in private and public collections around the world. She was the Chairperson of Yinjaa-Barni Art from 2006 - 2018, is a highly respected Elder of the Yindjibarndi community and a passionate communicator of her culture. Her two daughters have followed in their mother’s footsteps and are also established artists at Yinjaa-Barni Art Centre.

In 2014 Allery featured in Marni (My Painting Style), a long form documentary of her painting a commissioned work in her signature style. She is also a performer and cultural advisor in various performances with Big hART including ‘Hipbone Sticking Out’ and ‘Songs for Freedom’, touring nationally. Most recently Allery was announced as a finalist for the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

© the artist / art centre