Bush Plum Dreaming by Kate Petyarre - 108 x 198 cm (#KP 010921)

This painting by Kate Petyarre depicts Bush Plum Dreaming, Kate's Country (Antangker) located in the Utopia Region, East of Alice Springs.

The wild Bush Plum (Santalum Lanceolatum) fruits are small and black, however they have important significance to Alyawarre women; they are highly nutritious and rich in vitamin C.  During the summer time women, accompanied  by children, collect the fruits and perform ceremonies reinforcing their connection to the land.

Kate was born in 1980 and is one of the senior custodians for this Dreaming. Her older sister Bessie and her mother Polly Kngale are famous artists. Kate has depicted this stopry using a distinctive technique; dipping the brush in different colours, blending them together across the canvas. Country is seen from an aerial perspective and portrays seasonal changes of the plant in various stages of growth.

Kate's style, like her mothers, is impressionistic and lyrical. Her works are represented in Australian and overseas collections.