Our country is covered with spinifex. In the old days our elders would grind the spinifex seeds to make flour to make into damper. The resin from the spinifex can be used to make glue. The kangaroos also find shelter among the spinifex bushes, to hide themselves from hunters.
Biyulu (yellow ochre) is used during law ceremony. Every year during christmas season, familes from far and wide communities come and share that exciting moment where our young boys goes through the law and during that time family meet one another, catching up, being together and celebrating where our young boys through the birdarra law become men. They are no longer classed as teenagers.
In this painting the artist has depicted the pods of a shrub which is common in the Pilbara area. It is a smallish bush which comes into seed in September, when the Emu is visible in the Milky Way. This is the time the emu chicks hatch and it is one of their main sources of food. When the pod opens the emu parents feed the little black seeds to their chicks. The seed pod, which is about the size and shape of a cockroach, turns from orange to yellow, so when all the bushes are in pod at different stages, there is a brilliant display of orange and yellow colours throughout the country. The official name of this annual shrub is Senna notabilis, but, due to the oblong, flat shape and the glossy golden brown colour of its pods, it is commonly known as Cockroach Bush. It has a little round fruit, a berry that starts off green and turns red when it is ripe, but it’s poisonous. The shrub starts off as a light green colour and then, as it matures, it gets darker. The flowers are a yellowy orange and they, too, get darker with a bit of black as they are fading away.
During the rainy season many creeks are hidden among the rocky hills of the Pilbara country. The locals from this area like fishing on the banks of the creeks, catching many different varieties of fish.
I am proud and blessed to have a family who are always supportive of me ad things I do. this painting represents the connection that we have.
Madeline paints the country as she sees it around her, taking inspiration from the natural environment which she has lives amongst since childhood. She often paints things she sees in Yinjibarndi Country like the Pilbara wildflowers, lilyponds, claypan and spinifex
Millstream Lily pond is at the Millstream Homestead.The early settlers brought the water lilies with them and created a beautiful oasis with a large lily pond. This place is a significant site for the Yinjibarndi people and one they like to visit frequently.
When the wildflowers came out, it would mean there would be fruit coming soon from the plants in different seasons.