Artists of Ampilatwatja

Julieanne Ngwarraye Morton – My Country, My Bush Medicine

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.

Kathleen Nanima Rambler – My Fathers Country

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.

Kathleen Nanima Rambler – Mulangke Aherne (Beautiful Land)

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.

Kathleen Nanima Rambler – Creek Bed Running

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

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. `

Selina Pula Teece – My Fathers Country

Anterrengeny is my Fathers country.

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

Maisie Petyarre Bundey – Bush Tucker

Gunderson Kemarre Lewis – 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.

Valerie Kemarre Lewis – My Mothers Country

My mothers country is flowers, trees and mountains. I love to paint them. We see springs, the water from the springs is like rainwater, fresh and clean. We hunt goanna and turkeys, we roast them in the fire and the flesh is strong and sweet.

When we hunt we sleep at night next to the fire, the skies are big and the stars are beautiful, it makes me feel good.

Maisie Petyarre Bundey – Anhelengkw (Emu) Dreaming

Anhelengkw (emu) dreaming is the breast body painting depicting the story of the mother emu who runs away and leaves the father emu to look after the eggs until they hatch, he then raises the chicks.

This story is passed down through Maisie’s family and celebrated in dance.