Selina Pula Teece – My Fathers Country
Anterrengeny is my Fathers country.
I paint the country that come from, the beautiful landscapes and the many colours as they change during the season.
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Nancy Pitjara Frank – Bush Flowers
I was born in the bush at Ammaroo Station, along the Sandover. I have never seen the ocean or a big city. My mother and father were strong healthy people who taught me and my younger sister Rita the traditional way to hunt for Kangaroo, Goanna and Porcupine.
We know how to gather bush tucker (secrets of the earth) and bush medicine plants. My mother used grinding stones to make seed damper.
When I paint I think about good memories, being a young girl and walking through the land. My mother made paint from two stones and showed us ceremony painting and how to sing and dance for ceremonies. I still sing and dance and collect the bush medicines, I like to make tea from the small purple flowers of Arreth (hill fuchsia).
Painting bush medicine stories is important because it helps to maintain a strong knowledge and culture for the community.
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Rita Pitjara Beasley – My Father’s Country
“This is my Father’s country.
This place is our hunting place. I always go with my daughters and their children, I show them this place and teach them about the swampy country. We hunt for goannas, bush potato, bush tomato and after the big rain the bush medicine is picked and the roots are dug up to be used.
It is important as my mother taught me this and now I teach my family.”
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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Denise Ngwarraye Bonney – Tijamburra, My Grandmothers Country
This is my Mothers Mothers country, out near Canteen Creek, we go hunting for wild onions, goannas, echidnas and sugar bag honey in the trees. I like to hunt in my country, there is water all year round even if it looks dry, we follow the bird tracks to know where to dig and then we find water.
This painting is after rain, many grasses are out, but the riverbed is still sandy.
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Rosie Kemarre Morton – My Father’s Country and Bush Medicine
Rosie has painted her Father’s country, where she can always find bush tucker and bush medicine. She is very happy when out bush hunting and gathering, as it brings back memories of her childhood when she used to live traditionally off of the land with her family.
Rosie uses these hunting trips as her inspiration for her artworks, each one reflecting the layered landscape and various colours as she has seen them. They are always changing, with the light of day and the seasons of the year.
Rosie enjoys and understands the importance of painting bush medicine plants. They help in the healing of her 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.
Rosie’s dreaming is the Araluta or kangaroo plant. This bush is a rich source of food for the kangaroos and keeps them fat and healthy and good for hunting.
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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Diane Kemarre Ross – My Country
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.
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Latoya Ngwarraye Petrick – Bushflowers
These bush flowers grow seasonally in Alyawarr country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies.
I have just started painting, my grandmother Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney has been teaching me, she tells me all about the bush flowers.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
115682405187
Bathi (Pandanus Basket)
Yolŋu weavers of Arnhem Land create utilitarian, ceremonial, and decorative pieces using naturally sourced materials. This Bathi (Pandanus Basket) 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 various techniques to produce both functional and decorative baskets.
Typically, Bathi are made using a coiling technique which was adapted from techniques used by Indigenous women throughout Southeast Australia. Introduced to Arnhem Land weavers in the 1930’s as Missionaries began commissioning pieces in this style.
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.
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Woven Sculpture (Butterfly)
Yolŋu weavers of Arnhem Land craft both utilitarian and ceremonial objects using naturally sourced materials, with more recent works also including decorative pieces. The choice of fibre depends on the intended function of each piece.
One of the primary materials is the young, green leaves of the Pandanus spiralis tree, harvested with a long hook. The leaves are stripped of their prickles, and the smaller fibres are dried to produce a strong, resilient material. These fibres can be twisted, coiled, or combined using various techniques to create baskets (Bathi), dillybags (Mindirr), and mats—both in the modern flat style and the traditional conical style (Nganiyal).
For more flexible, open-weave designs, weavers use the bark of the kurrajong tree. This material is particularly suited for dillybags (Mindirr) and ceremonial objects, such as Matjka (body adornments) and Malka (headwear).
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.
115682405184
Bathi (Pandanus Basket)
Yolŋu weavers of Arnhem Land create utilitarian, ceremonial, and decorative pieces using naturally sourced materials. This Bathi (Pandanus Basket) 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 various techniques to produce both functional and decorative baskets.
Typically, Bathi are made using a coiling technique which was adapted from techniques used by Indigenous women throughout Southeast Australia. Introduced to Arnhem Land weavers in the 1930’s as Missionaries began commissioning pieces in this style.
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.