1992
Language Group:Alyawarre and Anmatyerre
Country:Camel Camp, Utopia Region, North East of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Medium:Acrylic on Canvas
Subjects:Anwekety (Conkerberry), Bush Tucker, Water Dreaming
Denisa Hatches Ngale was born in 1992 and is an Alyawarre and Anmatyerre artist from Camel Camp in the Utopia region of Central Australia. She began painting in 2017, continuing the strong artistic traditions of her family.
Denisa paints Anwekety (Conkerberry or Bush Plum), a significant bush tucker story passed down to her from her grandfather, the late Motorbike Paddy. Her artworks also explore water stories and the natural environment of her Country.
Her grandmother, the late Kathleen Ngale, was a respected Utopia artist who painted for Mbantua Gallery for many years. Growing up surrounded by family, culture and storytelling, Denisa continues to share these important connections through her contemporary paintings.
Denisa 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 Denisa as a 'bush plum'. In the Dreamtime, winds blew from all directions, carrying the Anwekety seed over Denisa'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.
