Yam Dreaming by Greeny Purvis Petyarre (SOLD)

Atnwelarr, the pencil yam, and Kame, its seed, are the subject of this painting.

In the Dreamtime, there are two parts to this yam story. Two different seeds were born that created two different species of yam; one called Atnwelarr which belongs to Alhalkere and Atnangkere countries, and the other called Arlatyeye which belongs to Arnumarra country.

Dots in this painting symbolise the seed while repetitious lines represent the root system (the yams) beneath the ground.

Artist

Name: Greeny Purvis
Skin name: Petyarre (also spelled Pitjara)
Language group: Anmatyerre
Country: Alhalkere
Region: Utopia, Central Australia
Born: c. 1930
Dec: 2010
Read Greeny Purvis Petyarre's full bio »

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• Background colour: Black