Anwekety, 2006 by Polly Ngale 90x120cm

"Anwekety, 2006" by Polly Ngale is a stunning multi-colored dot painting that depicts the conkerberry (Anwekety), a highly valued fruit in the Anmatyerre culture. Known as bush plum in English, this sweet black berry is a staple food for desert Aboriginals, prized for its rich vitamin C content. The berries grow on the Carissa lanceolata plant, a spiny shrub that thrives after rain, producing fragrant white flowers. Polly and her family traditionally gather and dry the berries, soaking them in water before consumption.

The Anwekety plant also holds medicinal significance. Its orange inner bark is soaked in water to create a solution used as a wash for skin and eye conditions, while the thorns are employed to treat warts. This practical knowledge is deeply intertwined with the Anwekety Dreaming, a sacred story that connects generations of Polly's family and Utopia's community.

Polly Ngale (c. 1936–2022), a senior custodian of Alparra in Utopia, was part of the oldest living generation of women artists in the region. She began her artistic journey in the late 1970s with silk batik before transitioning to canvas. Her depictions of Anwekety reflect her deep cultural connection to the land and her enduring legacy as a pioneering Indigenous artist.