1993
Language Group:Alyawarre
Country:Apungalingum Outstation, Utopia Region, North East of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Medium:Acrylic on Canvas
Subjects:Anwekety (Conkerberry), My Mother's Country
Malanda Kunoth was born in 1993 and is an Alyawarre artist connected to Apungalingum Outstation in the Utopia region. She comes from a strong artistic family, with her parents, Josie Kunoth Petyarre and Dinny Kunoth, both respected Utopia artists, and her grandmother being the late renowned artist Polly Ngale.
Malanda began painting for Mbantua Gallery in 2017 after being inspired by watching her parents paint. Through her family, she has inherited important cultural stories and knowledge that continue to guide her artistic practice.
Working in acrylic on canvas, Malanda paints Anwekety (Conkerberry), Waterhole, Awelye (Women's Ceremony and body paint designs) and My Mother's Country, representing the connection to her mother's Country, Alhalkere.
Malanda continues to live with her family in Utopia, developing her own artistic style while carrying forward the strong traditions of her family and community.
Malanda paints the conkerberry. In Anmatyerre the conkerberry is called Anwekety. This fruit looks very similar to a plum and is often referred to in English by Malanda as a 'bush plum'. In the Dreamtime, winds blew from all directions, carrying the Anwekety seed over Malanda's ancestors' land. The first Anwekety of the Dreamings then grew, bore fruit and dropped more seeds. Many winds blew the seeds all over the Dreaming lands.
