Anna Tilmouth Pengarte / Native Fuchsia Dreaming (AT03)

Anna Tilmouth Pengarte was born in 1974 in Utopia, NT, approximately 250 km north-east of Alice Springs. She is daughter to artist June Bird and Johnny Tilmouth and the granddaughter of the late Utopia artist Ada Bird Petyarre. Anna has grown up with a strong tradition of painting and would often accompany her grandmother Ada on trips to Melbourne.

In 2000 Anna spent time at Camel camp in the Utopia region where wood carving was once prolific. During this time Anna learned the art of making wood creations.

Anna shows a real confidence in her intricate painting style, often experimenting with new designs and colours.

Anna paints the story of the Atnyerlenge plant. The atnyerlenge (native fuchsia) has beautiful red flowers and is found in Anna’s country. In this painting Anna depicts the flowers of this plant and its seeds (dot work).

The atnyerlenge is an important plant in Anna’s country because of the sweet honey found in its flowers (bush tucker) and the leaves are recognised by Aboriginal people for its medicinal qualities (bush medicine).