Abie Loy Kemarre / Bush Medicine Leaves (1A)

Abie Loy Kemarre was born in 1972 at Utopia Station, 275 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern territory of Central Australia. Abie Loy Kemarre belongs to the Anmatyerr clan group and speaks Eastern Anmatyerr with English as a second language.

Abie Loy Kemarre lives at Mosquito Bore near Utopia Station with her husband Terry Rumble and her family group comprising her mother Margaret Loy, her brothers and sisters and her grandmother, Kathleen Petyarre. Currently, Abie divides her time between Adelaide, South Australia, Mosquito Bore and Lake Nash.

Abie began painting in 1994 under the tutelage of her famous grandmother, Kathleen Petyarre. She has custodial rights of the Bush Hen Dreaming which she depicts as well as her associated Country, sandhills and body painting series of works.

Through her powerful and beautiful paintings, Abie Loy Kemarre is able to convey to the viewer the sensitivity and strength she derives from her Dreaming and her country.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2006
•    Abie Loy Kemarre, Bush Leaf & Other Dreamings, Gadfly Gallery, Dalkeith, WA

2005
•    Abie Loy Kemarre, New Paintings, Gadfly Gallery, Perth, WA
•    Abie Loy Kemarre, Solo Exhibition, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC

2004
•    Abie Loy Kemarre, Solo Exhibition, Gadfly Gallery, Perth, WA
•    Abie Loy Kemarre, Solo Exhibition, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney, NSW

2003
•    Abie Loy Kemarre, Solo Exhibition, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC

Selected Collections
•    The Art Gallery of South Australia, South Australia
•    Festival of Arts Foundation Collection, Adelaide, South Australia
•    The Adelaide University Art Collection, South Australia
•    The Levi-Kaplan Collection, Seattle, USA
•    The Kelton Foundation, Los Angeles, USA
•    The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Commission Collection
•    The National Gallery of Victoria, Victoria
•    Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth, Western Australia

Like her famous family members (such as the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye and her Aunty Gloria Petyarre) Abie paints the Desert Yam (or Bush Plum) story from her family’s country. The yam grows underground with its viny shrub growing above ground up to one metre high. It is normally found on Spinifex sand plains and produces large flowers after summer rain. The yam is a tuber, or swollen root of the shrub and tastes much like the common sweet potato. It can be eaten raw or cooked and is still a staple food for the desert aborigines where it can be harvested at any time of the year. It is also renowned for its medicinal properties. This medicine is used to heal cuts, wounds, bites, rashes and as an insect repellent. In this painting, Gloria depicts the leaves of the yam paying homage to the spirit of this special plant in the hope that it will regenerate.