This painting is of my Mother’s Country, where the enookecha (kunga berry) trees grow.
After the rain the enookecha come out, the rain makes the flowers and seeds fall to the ground and then the fairies come.
They are sweet, good fairies that live in the enookecha trees and they come after the rain. When we go out we can feel them there.
Daisy has painted her Mother’s country, Kngwarraye country. Kngwarraye is one of the four main skin names of Ampilatwatja.
Bush medicine, goanna and many other traditional bush foods are found here. This is where Daisy’s traditional laws lie.
Daisy paints her country to keep her country strong.
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
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.
Jessie’s landscapes beautifully communicate the rich knowledge she possesses of medicinal plants and country, the heart of her culture.
Jessie’s has painted her country, Ampilatwatja. The brightly coloured flowers and small bushes are bush medicine and are still used within the community.
Jessie’s predominant theme in her paintings is ‘strong bush medicine’, demonstrating a deep connection to her country. Her work pays homage to the significance and use of traditional bush medicine, allowing an insight into her community. Yet underneath the iridescent surface, there is an underlying sense that there is more to this landscape than meets the eye. In keeping with the religious laws, Jessie reveals only a small amount of knowledge to the uninitiated.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
My country. When I go hunting out bush, as we drive along the road towards the hill you can see the beautiful land and the flowers blooming on the side of the road, and near the hills, even the beautiful gum trees.
It makes me proud.
Lilly has painted her country, Antarrengeny. The brightly coloured flowers and small bushes are bush medicine and are still used within the community.
Lilly’s landscapes beautifully communicate the rich knowledge she possesses of both medicinal plants and country, the heart of her culture.
As a young girl, Lilly lived traditionally off of the land with her family and Alyawarr people. In Lilly’s lifetime, she has experienced and borne witness to the irreversible changes of country and way of life, that were previously unchanged for thousands of years.
She is a kind and gentle elder of the community and often tells stories of how life used to be, in Alywarre, her language, to her family and friends. These stories are also a great inspiration for many of the artists within the community.
Lilly is passionate about nature, especially her country and the plants that grow on it, she speaks in launguage and is keen to explain the various bush medicines which she depicts in her paintings.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
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.
Shardia is the daughter of Julieanne Ngwarraye Morton, grandaughter of Lilly Kemarre Morton both senior artists of Ampilatwatja, Lilly was part of the Utopian Batik movement in the 1980’s and is a respected elder of the community. Her Grandfather was Banjo Pitjara Morton.
Shardia depicts her country with great joy, a style influenced by her family but with her own distinct fresh palette.
Bush flowers grow seasonally in Alyawarre country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies. The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
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.
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.