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Catalogue Number: 25/321
This painting tells the story of Aboriginal women from the Central Australian desert going out onto their Country to look for bush tomatoes. After a big rain, the desert comes alive again. The plants wake up, and this is the best time for women to walk through the bush and search for food.
The curved shapes in the artwork show the women sitting on the ground. Beside them are their digging sticks. In the middle is a coolamon, a wooden bowl that women used in the old days to collect bush foods.
The women find many bush tomatoes. Some are yellow, which means they are ripe and ready to eat. Others have dried on the plant and turned brown in the hot sun. These dried brown fruits are still good to eat and have a stronger flavour. Families enjoy both kinds.
Bush tomatoes have been an important food for Aboriginal people for many generations. The knowledge of where to find the plants, when to pick the fruit, and how to prepare it is passed down from mothers, aunties, and grandmothers. This painting celebrates that knowledge and the strong connection between the women and their Country.