Untitled (My Country 1) - Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s paintings are deeply connected to her Country, Alhalker, in the Utopia region of Central Australia. Rather than depicting a landscape as it appears, her work expresses a lifetime of knowledge and connection to Country.

My Country can be understood as encompassing the land, plants, animals, seasonal changes and cultural knowledge that shaped Emily’s life. These elements are interconnected, reflecting Country as a living and continually changing place.

Through her painting, Emily expressed her profound relationship with Alhalker and the knowledge she held as a senior Anmatyerr woman. As she famously described the breadth of her work: “Whole lot, that’s whole lot.”