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Catalogue Number: 26/143
This painting tells the story about Aboriginal women going out on country to collect bush tomatoes. The bush tomato plant grows across Central Australia and after a big rain, the plant grows new green leaves and soon small round fruits appear. At first the fruit is hard and green. As the sun warms the land, the fruit slowly changes colour. When it turns yellow, it is ripe and ready to eat. If the fruit stays on the vine longer, it dries in the hot sun and becomes brown. The dried fruit is still good to eat and has a stronger, earthy taste. The women’s foot prints are shown walking across the land and the curved shapes represent the women sitting on the ground.
Local Aboriginal families who live in this area know exactly where these plants grow. When the fruit is ready, they go out onto their country to collect it. Children learn from their mothers, aunties, and grandmothers how to find the plants, how to check the fruit, and which ones are safe to pick. This knowledge is very important in the desert. It has been taught and shared for thousands of years