Annie Nelson Napangardi / Bush Seeds (IW8657)

ARTIST:  Annie Nelson Napangardi

BORN: 1968, Ti Tree, Central Australia, NT

LANGUAGE:  Anmatyerre

Annie Nelson grew up at Ti Tree, a small community approximately 2 hours North of Alice Springs. She is the daughter of senior elder and artist, Polly Nelson Nungala.

Annie started her artistic career with wood carvings and beautiful jewellery, beginning painting in early 2000. She often depicts motifs in her artworks that are typical for paintings from Central Australia including the Bush Plum (Seeds), Bush Bean and Bush Berries Dreaming or Women’s Ceremony (Awelye).

This artwork depicts the bush plum seeds (Arnwekety), a staple food source (bush tucker), gathered by Aboriginal women from Utopia in Central Australia. In their ceremonies the women celebrate the spirit of the bush plum to ensure future productivity. This fruit is only available for a few weeks of the year and the plant is recognised by Aboriginal people for its medicinal qualities (bush medicine). In this painting, Annie depicts the seed of the yam (dot work), paying homage to the spirit of this special plant in the hope that it will regenerate.