Deutscher and Hackett

Commissioned by Delmore Gallery, via Alice Springs, Northern Territory in February 1994
Hogarth Gallery, Sydney
Private collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above in October 1995

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Delmore Gallery which states:
 
‘Such exaggerated application of colours, highlights the varied and changing colours of the daisy of the Anooralya Yam mythology. This yam mythology is central to Emily Kngwarreye’s custodial responsibilities for her country called Alalgura on Utopia Station.

Emily Kngwarreye completes a canvas in one session. The “story” is applied onto a prepared black canvas, and is viewed as a seemingly unregulated and spontaneous manner of expression, often concentrating on one area, and occasionally allowing an abandoned outburst.

The dotwork indicates through her main colours, red and yellow, that summer rains have fallen. In her layered approach, we see the sporadic clustered growth of plants in different stages of maturity. Understanding the life cycle of these plants is vital to survival in the bush, as is understanding the human life cycle and its needs. This knowledge is affirmed within the narrative of the song cycle sung in ceremony. Ceremony, or “awelye”, recognises the spiritual power that maintains nature’s fertility and hardness, and celebrates this to ensure the survival of future generations.’