Margaret Loy Pula Anatye (bush potato)

Anatye (bush potato) is a painting about Margaret Loy Pula’s culture. The story in it is her father’s dreaming. Her father’s country is Unjangola; desert country north of Utopia.

The viewpoint of the work is looking down onto the landscape, similar to a topographical map, where the bush potato grows. The plant sends out long tendrils that can spread out up to three metres and produces large, white, edible tubers, similar to the common sweet potato. The bush potato vine grows after the rains. The women go out to collect the potato using crowbars to dig up the ground. Once collected, they are cooked in the hot coals of the fire. They are an important source of bush food for the Anmatyerre people.

On behalf of Margaret Loy Pula, 2012