Artists of Ampilatwatja

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Rosie Kemarre Morton – Atyenh Artna Arnernp (My Bush Medicine) with Lizard

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 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.

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Edie Kemarre Holmes – Arratherrk (Bush Flowers) with Lizard

They would use the vine of this plant as rope to help carry coolamon with kids. Make like a bag and carry the kids in this.

My grandmother was called Arratherrk and her sister was calle Pwelk, the leaf of the bush banana.  At Elkedra there is two vine trees and each sister is named after each one. 

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Kathleen Nanima Rambler – Alkerinp Apmer (Distant Place)

When I’m looking for Bush yams I walk along tracks, in the distance I see the hills, sand and blue skies. This makes me feel happy. This is my country.

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Kathleen Nanima Rambler – Alkerinp Apmer (Distant Place)

When I’m looking for Bush yams I walk along tracks, in the distance I see the hills, sand and blue skies. This makes me feel happy. This is my country.

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Susan Ngwarraye Philomac – Spring Creek

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. `

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Julieanne Ngwarraye Morton – Alpeyt Alpeyt (Flowers Blooming)

Walking across my land to look for bush flowers and goanna. I bring home to make medicine for my family and cook the goanna for dinner.  Goanna is my favourite to eat.

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Jerome Ngwarraye Petrick – Atyenh Amper – (My Country)

I paint the country that I come from, the beautiful landscapes and the many colours as they change during the seasons.

Jerome is the Grandson of Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney and son of Sevania Kemarre Bonney, Jerome is inspired by the work of his family, especially his grandfather Alec Pula Lewis and uncle Gunderson Kemarre Lewis. He loves to paint the incredible landscapes found in Ampilatwaja

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Gunderson Kemarre Lewis – Atyenh Anyany Amper (Great Grandmothers Country)

I paint my Great Grandmothers country around Canteen Creek. Long time ago she hunted around this soakage in this country. When I paint, I paint that country, the soakage the bushflowers the sandhills and the distant mountains.

I hunt this country now.

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Kindy Kemarre Ross – Irrultja is My Country

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.

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Nancy Pitjara Frank – Artna Areyawarr Kwen Apwert (Bush Medicine Under Rocks)

When I go looking for bush medicine I look around the ground and under the rocks. That is where I will find it