When you fly over my country looking down after the rain you can see the river beds running like snakes slithering through the land, everything looks like patches of green with the spinifex and sacred trees, and the beautiful blue of the water refreshing the land and the dry river beds
My country is called Irrultja, it’s past the hill and the dried-up creek from here, it’s a nice place, my dad’s country too, and my Mum’s country is here in Ampilatwatja. When I go to see my country, we always go to gather bush medicine, we always climb up the hill that’s in the south, we always go there.
We like to look out over the land and there are lots of flowers and bush medicine up there. I love my countryside; I see the nice flowers and gather bush medicine for me and my family. I like to paint a mix of wildflowers and bush medicines in all my paintings because it reminds me of my favourite part of my country and when it rains the flowers come out. Yeah, my countryside.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
The land is blooming with flowers after the rain. This is when I will go and collect the bush flowers for my home
Edie depicts Antarrengeny when there has been no rain and the land shimmers like jewels. It is the open flat country, after a bushfire, when only the young grasses and the trees are growing and where there is good hunting.”
Antarrengeny is Edie’s country and also her Father’s.
Edie has a strong connection to Antarrengeny. She gave birth to two of her daughters out bush on this land. It is her country and she loves it dearly.
After the rain we go and cut the bush medicine for flu. We boil it and drink it when we got flu and sore throat.
I love to look at the land and bush leaves. My mother paints, her name is Lucy Pula Luck and my Aunties Beverly Pula Luck, Jessie Pula Luck and Juliet Ngwarraye Morton all paint, they are great painters and I want to paint with them and learn. Bush medicine leaves are my favorite to look at. White flowers, leaves and bush tucker – this is what I want to show in my paintings.
Kwetyaylp (donkeys) and nantew (horses) would come and drink from the water at Spring Creek on my father’s country. We would put a bucket in the sand we would filter the water so we could drink it.
When I was young girl we would go to Canteen Creek following the track along the hills, we would hunt turkey, emus and kangaroo and we would cut the bark and collect the sap from the sugar bag trees. `
When I go looking for bush medicine I look around the ground and under the rocks. That is where I will find it
This is my country where I go hunting to collect plants to make bush medicine for my family.
I love to look at the land and bush leaves. My mother paints, her name is Lucy Pula Luck and my Aunties Beverly Pula Luck, Jessie Pula Luck and Juliet Ngwarraye Morton all paint, they are great painters and I want to paint with them and learn. Bush medicine leaves are my favorite to look at. White flowers, leaves and bush tucker – this is what I want to show in my paintings.