Click to enlargeLouise Numina Napananka
b. c.1976
- Region
- Central Desert & Tanami
- Community
- Ti Tree
- Language group
- Anmatyerr (Anmatyerre)
Medicine Leaves, 2016
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
87 x 138 cm
- Provenance
- Aboriginal Fine Arts Gallery, Darwin, NT
Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW
- Artwork story
- The Bush Medicine Plant is an Australian native that grows wild in Central Australia. Women collect leaves from these plants , which are boiled to extract resin. Kangaroo fat is mixed into the resin, creating a paste that can be stored for a long time in bush conditions. This medicine is used to heal cuts, wounds, bites and rashes. It is also used to treat the flu, headache, backache, upset stomach, chest pains or as an insect repellent. As the leaves and petals dry out they fall off and are blown around by the wind. This is represented in the painting and gives it the movement.