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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I was born in Ali Curung, my father was Cigarette George, he was a drover and my Mother is Edie Kemarre Holmes. My mother taught me to paint, I watched her when I was small, she is an important artist who was involved in the Utopia Batik movement and now paints at Ampilatwatja. I spent my childhood around Murray Downs.
My paintings are influenced by my Fathers country. I was taught to hunt bush tucker, sugar bags, Kangaroo and Goanna when I was little.
I travel to my Mothers country on Antarrengeny outstation and I teach my kids and grandchildren to go hunting.
I like to get busy on painting, it feels good.
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint altyerr (dreaming stories). The artists paint their country where those stories sit.