Arreth – Strong Bush Medicine
4 Apr 2020
1/3 Vickers Street
Parap
The masterful Artists of Ampilatwatja are once again exhibiting their finely dappled canvases at Salon Art Projects.
Whether you are in need of Kwenkart (Turkey Bush) for headache, Therrpeyt (Native Fuchsia) for cold and flu, or Ntang (edible seeds) for feeding the family, the Artists of Ampilatwatja have an exquisite bush medicine guide for you to enjoy in the form of painting.
The exactitude of the stippled marks made by these highly accomplished painters are indicative of their skill and discipline. The intricate layers of paint both reveal and conceal traditional knowledge held by the artists, allowing the viewer an insight into ancient healing practices. As always, you will be moved by this illuminating, brightly studded body of work.
IMAGE: Margaret Kemarre Ross Bush Flowers and Bush Medicine Plants (detail), 2019, acrylic on linen, 76 x 61 cm, Cat No 1033-19
Pammy Kemarre Foster
Serina Ngwarraye Holmes
Jessie Ngwarraye Ross
Kathleen Nanima Rambler
Margaret Kemarre Ross
Joyrene Ngwarraye Holmes
Natasha Beasley
Alana Ngwarraye Holmes
Rita Pitjara Beasley
Sonya Ngwarraye Petrick
Robina Pitjara Jones
Lilly Kemarre Morton
Edie Kemarre Holmes
Daisy Kemarre Moss
Margaret Kemarre Ross
2019, acrylic on linen
76 x 61 cm
Cat No 1033-19
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Arreth – Strong Bush Medicine
Artists of Ampilatwatja
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those
stories sit.
Margaret loves to paint and she is constantly inspired by country. When she goes hunting, she enjoys seeing the bush flowers and looking for bush medicine.
"We look for these plants in rocky country, we can find a little purple plum that we use to clean the kidneys and sometimes for flu. The yellow flowers are used for scabies, we boil them in water and wash our skin with it. The pink flowers we use for when we have sore eyes, we mix the flowers with water and the colour changes to a light green."
Communicating this love, knowledge and appreciation of country and all it provides is important to Margaret because "it keeps culture strong."
– ARTISTS OF AMPILATWATJA