Amwekety (Bush Plum), 2002 by Gracie Morton, 41x41cm, 7456GM

"Amwekety (Bush Plum), 2002" by Gracie Morton intricately depicts the songlines tracing the journeys of the Bush Plum ancestors as they created her traditional custodial country in Utopia. The overlaying lines crossing the painting are reminiscent of her great aunt, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, whose early works featured semi-hidden pathways crisscrossing her paintings.

The clusters of variously sized and coloured dots in shades of salmon, cream, ochre brown, and ochre red on a black background impart strength and mystery to the piece. Gracie, a senior custodian of the Bush Plum, a highly prized food source high in vitamin C, captures its abundance in the northeast desert region of Central Australia.

Using an aerial perspective, Gracie’s delicate dotting and colour variation depict the summer landscape when seeds from the Bush Plum (Amwekety) split open and husks scatter across the ground. The Bush Plum, a prostrate plant, bursts into vibrant color after rain but quickly disintegrates in the intense summer heat. This small fruit, with black seeds, can be eaten raw or cooked into bush damper.

Belonging to the Alyawarre language group, Gracie Morton Pwerle upholds her cultural heritage through her art. Her surname appears in various spellings (Pwerle, Pwerl, Purle, or Ngale) due to different linguistic interpretations.