Conkerberry Dreaming by Matthew Mpetyane (SOLD)

Dot work in this painting represents anwekety (conkerberries), it's Dreaming story belonging to Ahalpere country in the Utopia region of Central Australia.

The conkerberry (also often called bush plum), is a sweet black berry that is favoured by desert aboriginals. They only grow on the plant (Carissa lanceolata) for a few weeks of the year, however Matthew's people would collect plenty of them and store them dry, soaking them in water again before being consumed. The plant of the conkerberry is a tangled, spiny shrub that can grow up to 2m high. After rain fragrant white flowers bloom. This plant also bares medicinal properties. The orange inner bark from the roots can be soaked in water and the resultant solutions can be used as a medicinal wash. This is particularly favoured for skin and eye conditions. The thorns on the shrub can be used to cure warts.

ARTIST

Name: Matthew Mpetyane
Skin name: Mpetyane (also spelled Mbitjana)
Lives: Utopia, Central Australia

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• Medium: Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
• Size of painting: 30cm x 30cm
• Size of linen border: Approx 6cm
• Designed to be stretched on a 2cm deep stretcher frame
• Background colour: Black
• This painting comes with a Certificate of Authenticityand artist profile.