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About the Artists
Our vibrant and dynamic artists are from the Utopia region; a large remote area of Central Australia which, until recently, had no government funded art centre. As a result of their pioneering efforts, they have one of the strongest and richest art histories.
Spring Collection
This Spring we're celebrating bush medicines which are still an important part of Australia's remote Indigenous life and art.
There are many different types of bush medicines.
Some plants, like ilpengk, are crushed, mixed with fat and applied to the skin. Others are boiled and inhaled, slowly chewed, or occasionally drunk. Some saps are directly smeared on the skin, and there are barks that are smoked.
Healing rituals such as singing are also an important part of bush medicine.
Pictured: Topsy Pwerle holds Artepwel
Bush Medicine by Patsy Long | 90cm x 90cm
One of the bush medicine's that Patsy paints is called apeng which is the desert kurrajong tree (Brachychiton gregorii). The tree has multiple uses and is often portrayed in artwork as a cross or star shape because of the shape of its leaves.
While the medicinal property of this tree is not widely documented, Patsy and others will tell you the water found in its roots can be drunk to help cure sore throats. The roots hold considerable water and are also considered an emergency water supply for that reason. To drink the water, the roots are broken into pieces, sometimes scraped a little and then either sucked or propped up in a cup or dish to allow the water to percolate out.
Bush Medicine (Ilpengk) by Dorrie Jones | A4
The Eremophila dalyana, or ilpengk, is a rare plant in Central Australia and is only found in the far north-east region (including Utopia). Like other Eremophila species around Australia, it is highly prized for its medicinal properties. The leaves have a highly aromatic and characteristic smell which is key to their selection and use by nangara's (Aboriginal practitioners or healers).
The medicine is prepared by collecting the long narrow grey-green leaves and grinding them into an ointment with fat, used to rub on the upper body and head area for relief of colds and other chest ailments. For skin ailments such as scabies, a decoction of the leaves is made.
Bush Medicine Leaves by Jeannie Petyarre | 150cm x 90cm
This painting depicts bush medicine leaves that are found in Jeannie's country, Alhalkere. Fat from animals such as kangaroos and echidnas are mixed with crushed medicinal leaves and the resulting ointment applied to the face and hair so that its powerful aroma can linger and aid in the relief of colds.
Bush Medicine Leaf (Antywerleny) by Abie Loy Kemarre | 90cm x 60cm
Similar to ilpengk, the long narrow leaves of the antywerleny (Acacia tenuissima) are crushed and mixed with fat for use as a medicinal ointment, or soaked in water to make a medicinal wash.
Abie Loy says they still continue make this bush medicine.
Bush Medicine (Artepwel) by Topsy Jones Pwerle | Size A4
Artepwel is an Alyawarr word for the Acacia tenuissima (mentioned above in Abie Loy's painting).
"Wash 'em, boil 'em, make it like [in a] pot. Like ilpengk medicine." - Topsy Jones
Topsy is an Alyawarr woman from Atnwengerrp country, and Dorrie Jones' mother. This painting depicts the long, thin leaves of artepwel.
Leaves by Gloria Petyarre | 90cm x 60cm
Gloria's paintings represents leaves, some of which have medicinal qualities. It was her mother who taught her how to make a medicinal ointment from these leaves. She would take fat from kangaroos and echidnas and mix it with crushed medicinal leaves.
"Mum was taking the kangaroo fat, and echidna [fat]. We been mixing 'em up".
The ointment was applied to their face and their hair so that its powerful aroma would linger and aid in the relief of colds.
Atham-areny Story by Angelina Ngale | 180cm x 90cm
Angelina's Atham-areny paintings depict a practice that falls into the supernatural realm of bush medicine.
Women are called upon by the nangara to sing and dance together to help heal someone touched by an Atham-areny spirit. Other ancestor spirits, ones that watch over the land and protect the people, are invoked during the process to assist.
