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View Of Country

The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories, the artists paint their country where those stories sit.

This painting shows the layered landscape of Alyawarr, Central Australia. 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.”

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My Grandmothers Country-Elizabeth Ngwarra Bonney

I still hunt my Grand Mothers country for goanna, bush medicine and yams.

I hunt all year round, hunting and walking through the country makes me happy.  When I look at the distant hills I can feel my grandmother.  Bush flowers are everywhere.

Painting my grandmother’s country reminds about those times.

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Ntang Native Seeds

The seeds are collected under a tree by laying a tarp on the ground and hitting the tree continuously until most of the seeds have fallen. Once the seeds are collected they are then ground with a mortar and grinding stone.

A number of these grinding stones have been in families for generations. Once seeds are ground, water is added and mixed until a damper like substance is formed and placed under the coals until cooked.

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Bush Flowers – Dakota Petrick

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

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

“My twin sister Lotoya and I have just started painting, our grandmother Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney has been teaching us, she tells us all about the bush Flowers and bush medicine.

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Bushflowers – Lotoya Petrick

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

These bush flowers grow seasonly 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

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Bush Tucker – Maisie Petyarre Bundey;-

Maisie paints the bush tucker found in her country, the area that surrounds Boundary Bore in the Utopia homelands. She paints bush plums, bush bananas, bush potatoes and bush medicine plants. The main motif which recurs often in Maisie artworks is a full coolamon. When she paints she always speaks of gathering and hunting on her country ‘long way from here, long time ago’, filling up coolamons with ‘bush potato, bush banana, goanna and porcupine.’ Maisie always says her family are ‘happy ones, healthy ones.’
 

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Long Neck Turtle – Nyangura

Nyangura the Long-Neck Tortoise is Yirritja. The two sacred ancestral Nyangura are found at a place called Djirringi in north-central Arnhem Lane on Ganalbingu land. The tracks left by the two ancestral totemic Nyangura, as they crawled over the land at Djirringi, is a sacred symbol. This symbol is used as a ground design or sand sculpture during cleansing ceremonies otherwise known as Bulu-Lup or Wan’tjirr. During this ceremony, water is poured over the bodies of Yolngu relatives of the deceased as they stand within the sacred ground design representing the marks left on the ground by the two original ancestral Nyangura at Djirringi. Yolngu also dance Nyangura during bunggul ceremonies. Here they may paint the design for Nyanguru and other designs. Nyangura is also food for Yolngu. It is cooked and cut according to age old tradition. The artist has depicted four Long Neck Turtle’s in this painting.

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Raypiny Dhawu (Fresh Water Story)

All Aboriginal people originate from a spiritual source, fixed in a particular place in their land or the sea. These ‘spiritual reservoirs’ are often in the form of special waterholes made by Wangarr (creative spirits) that were created long ago close to the beginning of time. These creator beings moved across the countryside, shaping the land and implanting in each tract of country, the spiritual life force for the people who were to own it. These creative spirits took many forms and when they gave the land to each group, they also gave songs, dances, ceremony, the associated laws and language.

 

The creation story for Ganalbingu people took place near the middle section of the Glyde River where it becomes the Goyder River. Their land, Ngaliyindi, sits astride the Arafura Swamp in Central Arnhem Land. Many Ganalbingu artists paint totemic species significant to their clan. These can include baru (crocodile), banda (long necked turtle), buliya (catfish), yalman (waterlilies), gumang (magpie geese), dakawa (fresh water yabby), ratjuk (barramundi), warrnyu (flying fox) and more.

 

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Ntang Native Seeds

The seeds are collected under a tree by laying a tarp on the ground and hitting the tree continuously until most of the seeds have fallen. Once the seeds are collected they are then ground with a mortar and grinding stone.

A number of these grinding stones have been in families for generations. Once seeds are ground, water is added and mixed until a damper like substance is formed and placed under the coals until cooked.

By , ago

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Bush Tucker – Maisie Petyarre Bundey;-

Maisie paints the bush tucker found in her country, the area that surrounds Boundary Bore in the Utopia homelands. She paints bush plums, bush bananas, bush potatoes and bush medicine plants. The main motif which recurs often in Maisie artworks is a full coolamon. When she paints she always speaks of gathering and hunting on her country ‘long way from here, long time ago’, filling up coolamons with ‘bush potato, bush banana, goanna and porcupine.’ Maisie always says her family are ‘happy ones, healthy ones.’
 

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