Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney – Bush Tobacco
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.
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Daisy Kemarre Turner – Irrultja, My Country
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.
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Rosie Kemarre Morton – My Father’s Country and Bush Medicine
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.
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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.
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.”
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Wilma Ngala Ross – 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.
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Sevania Kemarre Bonney – Great Grandmothers Country
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.
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Dakota Ngwarraye Petrick – Mwanyen (Bush Tomato)
My twin sister Latoya and myself have just started painting bush flowers. Our grandmother Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney shows us the good way.
I did the mwanyen (bush tomato) plant because it is sweet tasting fruit that we find in creek beds after the rain.
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Ntang Native Seeds
The seeds are collected under a tree by laying a tarp on the ground and hitting the tree continuously until most of the seeds have fallen. Once the seeds are collected they are then ground with a mortar and grinding stone.
A number of these grinding stones have been in families for generations. Once seeds are ground, water is added and mixed until a damper like substance is formed and placed under the coals until cooked.
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Sevania Kemarre Bonney – Great Grandmothers Country
My Great Grandmothers Country is where we go hunting. We hunt arlewatyerr (goanna) and arwengerrp(bush turkey). After the big rains we swim in the river. We look for sweet alkwarrer (bush banana), anaty (bush potato) and akarley (wild oranges).
I am inspired by the beautiful wild flowers that grow there. Being on my great grandmothers country makes me happy and content.
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Bettrina Pula Bundey – Bush Medicine Plants
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.