I was born in Irrultja, my father’s country. I paint therrpeyt, a plant with red and pink flowers, it is my family symbol. You can suck the flowers to get a sweet honey from. You can wash your body with the leaves to heal sores and clean your body. I paint arreth which grows in the rocky ground and helps fix my sore throat when I make a hot tea from the leaves. I love to paint, I feel happy when I paint, I feel busy and good.
When I paint, I think of the stories my Grandmother Lilly tells me of how she and her family used to live. Where they lived on her country as she was growing up and how they followed their mothers and their grandmothers.
When I go hunting with family for bush tucker and bush medicine it makes me think of Lilly’s stories, the way they used to live off the land, traditionally.
I paint those places my Grandmother tells me about, I paint how I imagine they were and the life they used to lead.
Levina’s fine dot technique requires a lot of time and patience, communicates the pride and passion she has for her paintings and her country.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
My Mother, Lilly Kemarre, taught me to paint. She likes to paint her Mother’s and Father’s country from the old days, when they used to live off of the land.
The landscape changes during the different seasons in the year. I paint the dried flowers and bushes from last season as well as the new plants that come after the rain. These plants have special meanings and uses for us. I have been taught how to read the country, and now I teach my children these skills.
Julieanne’s painting’s are inspired by her Mother’s stories of the old days, walking and living on their land, and also of her own experience of life out here in Alyawarr country.
The storm clouds are coming over the bushland at Barrow Creek which is my Father’s country. It is very hot and dry over summer, then the rains come, it make the bush fresh, and the bush turkeys are fat. It is my Uncle’s country – he can make it rain, my mother’s side have the power to make rain come with their totems.
Bush tobacco flowers in winter and we harvest the whole plant, let it dry then burn it with white ash from the eucalyptus tree, it’s an old recipe.
I was born in Irrultja and I grew up with my mother, father and sister. My mother was the strong painter Rosie Ngwarraye Ross, and my grandmother Biddy Kemarre was a member of the Utopian Batik movement. My sister Margaret Kemarre Ross and my daughters, Rosemary, Desma and Danielle Ngwarraye Turner are all strong artists who paint and live in Ampilatwatja. We all paint the bright and beautiful wild flowers that grow here.
Irrultja is hill country and my mother and father took me hunting, we hunted kangaroo and goanna and cooked them in the fire in the shade of trees. We collected bush tucker and strong bush medicine – Arreth. We loved collecting the small delicious bush tomato and bush medicines to wash our hair and soothe our skin. I loved swimming and playing with my sister as a child.
Rosie has painted her Father’s country, where she can always find bush tucker and bush medicine. She is very happy when out bush hunting and gathering, as it brings back memories of her childhood when she used to live traditionally off of the land with her family.
Rosie uses these hunting trips as her inspiration for her artworks, each one reflecting the layered landscape and various colours as she has seen them. They are always changing, with the light of day and the seasons of the year.
Rosie enjoys and understands the importance of painting bush medicine plants. They help in the healing of her people and it keeps the tradition and knowledge strong. These particular plants are very plentiful after rain and can be used for numerous conditions, such as skin irritations, flu, coughs and infections.
Rosie’s dreaming is the Araluta or kangaroo plant. This bush is a rich source of food for the kangaroos and keeps them fat and healthy and good for hunting.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
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.”
My grandmother, my mother, and myself come from the heart of the country, Anmatyerr country. My mother was born at the old Telegraph Station (old bungalow) Alice Springs.
In 1979 I came to Ampilatwatja with my new husband Joe Morton, and I am still here. I have raised six children in Ampilatwatja. I always accompanied Joe on hunting trips and he would show me his country.
I was involved with the 80’s batik movement and instrumental in starting the painting activities in the early days. I come from a long line of artists. I enjoy spending my time painting.
This is 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.
Shadowland
My great Grandmothers Country is where we go hunting. We hunt goanna and bush turkey. We swim in the river. We look for bush banana, bush potato and wild oranges. I am inspired by the beautiful wild flowers that grow there. Being on my Great grandmothers country makes me happy and content.