My Country (Seven Sisters Dreaming) #3

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

About the Painting: The different colours represent the land and the various rockholes and sandhills. Andrea tells us the story of the seven sisters and their travels through the country as they are pursued by Wati as they travelled to the west. He fell in love with them, and even though they were of the wrong skin name to marry him, he was desperate to make them his. As the women fled from Wati Nyiru, they created the country and landscape around Andrea's home, trying to trick him and escape from him. The sisters created the rock holes, sandhills and rocky outcrops as they tried to escape. Eventually they created a rock hole which went deep under the ground and came up on the other side of the hill. The women dived into the water and came out on the other side to fly up into the sky. Wati Nyiru followed them into the water and when he came out on the other side, he was too late. Now, Wati Nyiru can be seen to the south of the seven sisters, as he still chases them across the sky. (Man) Nyiru. Nyiru saw the sisters

Artist: Andrea Mimpatja Adamson

Region/Language: Pitjantjatjara people

Artist Bio: Andrea Mimpatja Adamson was born in Alice Springs and went to school in Amata on the APY lands in South Australia. She is from a family of artists with her grandfather being tiger Palpatija from Tjungu Palya in Nyapri and her Auntie on her mother’s side was Angkatji Rini Tiger another well known artist. It was in Nyapri she learnt to paint from her Grandfather. Andrea paints the Dreaming stories of Wanampi and The Seven Sisters as well as other stories from her such as spinifex, grass and water and rockholes.