Aileen ADAMSON

Piltati Country , 2020

Art : Aboriginal
Origine : APY Lands
Dimensions : 152 x 152 cm
Medium : Acrylic on canvas
N° : 4523

Aileen Adamson is an artist from the Nyapari community in the heart of the APY region of South Australia. Her paternal grandmother is the well-known Tjungu Palya artist, the late Kunanmara (Eileen) Stevens. 

In this work she represents the territory of her paternal grandfather: the land of Pilta Tjukurpa. 

This painting refers to the story of two brothers and two sisters who lived near Piltati, west of Amata, 480km south-west of Alice Springs. The brothers and sisters formed couples, and it was the women who went hunting to bring back kuka (meat for cooking), while the men were solely responsible for performing the ceremonies. After a while, the sisters grew tired of the men's laziness and decided to eat all the food they had caught. The brothers became angry and decided to punish the women for their insubordination. So they decided to transform themselves into Wanampi (a giant water snake) and play a prank on them. They imitated the tracks of a large snake and hid in a hunting hole, with their tails sticking out to attract the women. As expected, the youngest sister fell for the trick and pulled on the snake's tail, which slithered free at every attempt, to no avail. Tired, she went back to her sister and told her of her misadventure.

They decided to go back the next day and catch the snake. Using their wana (digging sticks) and piti (large wooden bowls), they set about their task, catching glimpses of the wanampi from time to time, without even managing to catch it. They dug a trench 25km long, from Aparatjara to Piltati. As their holes got deeper, they also dug subsidiary channels, creating what is now the Piltati Gorge, with its rock piles and creeks stretching along the valley floor. Finally, the eldest sister changed tactics and dug a hole towards the entrance to the burrow (now the largest water hole in Piltati), revealing the snake's hiding place before it could escape. She threw down her digging stick and pierced its side. The younger brother escaped from the burrow and chased after his wife, whom he swallowed. The wounded snake, exhausted and in pain, devoured his wife.