or make 4 interest-free payments of
$55.00 AUD
fortnightly with
More info
.png)
c. 1987
Language Group:Anmatyerre
Country:Atoola (Bushy Park) , Utopia Region, North East of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Medium:Acrylic on Canvas and Linen
Subjects:Awelye (Women's Ceremony), Akatyerre (Desert Raisin), Women Collecting Akatyerre (Desert Raisin)
Rowena grew up at Homestead in the Utopia Region, northeast of Alice Springs, and attended Akaye School (the Mulga Bore Primary School). She started her artistic career in the early 2000s, creating wood carvings of bush animals with many of the older women in her community.
Rowena began painting in 2001 for Mbantua Gallery, focusing on Awelye, the Aboriginal term for women's ceremonies. Her paintings depict the body paint, stories, dances and locations associated with these ceremonies.
Rowena depicts women collecting Akatyerre which is the Anmatyerre word for the desert raisin, wild sultana or bush tomato. Once collected, the Aboriginal women eat the akatyerre raw or grind them into a paste before being consumed. There is a Dreamtime story that belongs to the akatyerre for Rowena and the people of Atoola (Bushy Park) country. Ceremonies are performed to demonstrate respect for this story and maintain the existence of the akatyerre plant.
Women, represented by 'U' motifs, can carry with them their digging sticks and coolamons (carved wooden bowls) which are typical instruments used for collecting many bush foods.
