This exhibition is a celebration of the Utopia women’s strength and continuity –- an interweaving of art, language and awely (women’s performance arts). It affirms their connection to their country, and their deep cultural knowledge.
This collection of batiks was produced through the Utopia Bush Medicine Project.
This project had its beginnings in late 2007 when a group of senior Alyawarr and Anmatyerr women from Utopia asked Batchelor Institute for support to document their knowledge of bush medicines. Lecturers from the Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics and the Arts and Crafts department have been collaborating with the community through a series of workshops integrating language work, visual arts, film making and bush medicine research.
Like hunting and performing awely, the Utopia women’s approach to making batik is one of exuberance. It is ‘performed’ with energy, enthusiasm and strength of purpose. The pieces are bold, spontaneous works filled with life, laughing and language. ‘Ingkerr anyent-antey’, they say. “We are all together. We are a part of everything and everything is a part of us. It’s all the same thing – everything and everyone are as one.”
Altyerr anwantherr mpwareyel
Altyerr ikwer-angkwerr-antey apmer-angkwerr-antey Ingwer-angkwerr mpwareyangenh anwantherr mpwareyel
Apmer renh-antey pwety-areny-anteyarl yanhan arwerl
Arwerl renh-rnem-antey akwerlp-areny
Renh-antey mpwareyel akwerlp renh-antey
Renh-antey mpwareyel akwerlp renh-antey
Rarl anganewarl-antey
Altyerr rarl anganew arwerl
Renh-antey arrerneyneyel arwerl
Apmwamwam-weny-antey
Apmerelarl rtneyel-antey
Apmer ikwerelarl anganewarlel rtneyel arwerl-rnem
Renh-antey anwantherr arrerneyel
We are making things that come from the Dreaming and from the country
We don’t do anything else, or paint any other places belonging to others
All of those plants there are from the bush
They are plants that grow in sandhill country
That’s what is being made in the batik
That’s where the plants originated from in the Dreaming
The plants originated in the Altyerr time
They are the plants that are used in the batik designs
They are very important They are found growing in the country
These plants are found growing in the country where they were created in the ancestral time
That’s what we paint in the batik
Mary Kemarr, Alyawarr, 2010
Ingkerr anyent-antey. Exhibition flyer
Ingkerr anyent-antey. Exhibition broucher
- This article originally appears at:
- http://
- Article taken from the following publication:
- Article submitted by:
