This is a collaborative painting between Alison Munti Riley and her youngest daughter, Amelia Riley. This artwork depicts two stories; Bush Tomatoes, paying homage to a beloved bush tucker, and...
This is a collaborative painting between Alison Munti Riley and her youngest daughter, Amelia Riley. This artwork depicts two stories; Bush Tomatoes, paying homage to a beloved bush tucker, and Kungka Kutjara (Two Women), a 'big story' about two sisters who travelled great distances across the desert. There are many variations of this significant Dreaming story, but Alison paints two women who were sisters, travelling across the desert from Western Australia to South Australia. The younger sister did not want to go, and wanted to return to her own country, where there was an abundance of food and water - but the big sister insisted. They travelled through sandhills and various desert country, camping as they travelled. When they arrived in South Australia all the trees were dry, and there wasn't much bush tucker to be found. Life was very hard. As much as the younger sister wanted to return to where she was born, she obeyed her older sister, but always yearned for her own country. A great deal of knowledge is passed down through family lines, traditionally using oral storytelling. Today, this passing-down of knowledge extends to artmaking practice, allowing mothers and daughters to learn, teach, and paint together.