When I was a little girl I would go and collect the seed from the altywart grass with my grandmothers. They would teach us how to hang on to the tree and grind the seeds with our feet. We would carry the seed in our coolamon back to the camp, then make damper, cook it on the fire and eat with our families.
When I go hunting for aker arlkerl (echidna) around the sandhills of Ampilatwatja I always spot the wild flowers and honey flowers. We tap the Bankias against our hand and get the honey, it is sweet to taste.
After the rain and bushfires all the new flowers pop up around me. My favourite time of the year is winter when it is cooler to walk and hunt.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
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.
These bush flowers grow seasonly in Alyawarr country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies.
When I go out hunting, I like to see all the bush flowers that are flowering and then when I come back, I paint them.
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
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. `
I paint the country of my Father and Mother and where they grew up, near Barrow Creek.
This is the painting of my Father’s country, where I grew up. When we would go hunting, we always climbed those hills. We would take the kids hunting too and take photos of the hills.
I use bright colours and beautiful attention to detail expresses the love and joy that I have for the country closest to my heart.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
Wild passionfruit – passion flower, grows on our country Antarrengenye (unda ra ninya).
Arrweneng (bush passion flower) comes after the rain on our land. Passion flower is a beautiful purple flower; it grows on a tree. Once the tree flowers, it grows a fruit, we gather these once the fruit is ripe. We mash the berries in our hand and the sugars comes out, we eat it and it is sweet and delicious like honey
“Bush medicine plants are used for healing on the body and for drinking. We make this by grinding the plants with a rock, we use the juice and the fibre of the plant.
We collect bush medicine plants when we are out hunting. Different kinds of plants grow during different seasons.
There are lots of different medicines, we know what their stories are, we learnt them from our parents and we teach these stories to our children.”
Bush medicine knowledge is still strong in Ampilatwatja, it continues to be passed down to the younger generations and is widely used.
When the women go hunting they often gather bush medicine. The plants depicted here are found in the country around Ampilatwatja, they are used for soothing skin infections and to make a drink to help with colds and coughs.
Painting bush medicine stories is important because it helps to maintain a strong knowledge and culture for the community.
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.”
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
