Bessie Petyarre
Kate Pitjara is part of a celebrated lineage of artists from Utopia, Central Australia. She is related to acclaimed artist Polly Ngale, and together with other members of her family, continues the rich tradition of painting Anwekety (Bush Plum Dreaming). These stories hold deep ancestral and cultural significance, connecting people to Country through ceremony and memory.
Anwekety is the Anmatyerre word for conkerberry (or conkleberry), a sweet black berry favoured by desert Aboriginals. They only grow on the plant (Carissa lanceolata ) for a few weeks of the year. However, the Women collect plenty of them and store them dry, soaking them in water again before being consumed. This fruit resembles a plum, which is why it is often referred to in English by the Anmatyerre people as ‘bush plum’. There is a Dreamtime story for the Anwekety that belongs to the people of Ahalpere country in the Utopia Region. This means anyone from this country can be taught it and hold ceremonies to ensure its productivity. In the Dreamtime, winds blew from all directions, carrying the Anwekety seed over the ancestors’ land, in Ahalpere country. The first Anwekety of the Dreamings grew, bore fruit and dropped more seeds. Many winds blew the seeds all over the Dreaming lands.
Working similarly to her mother and her highly regarded aunt, Kathleen Ngale, Kate creates her Anwekety paintings by building layers of colour to create multi-dimensional images. Her use of vibrant colours creates a dynamic aspect of the paintings, while the combination of heavy and finer brushwork forms subtle layers of blended tones that create visual shifts within the works.
