Anmatyerr

Emily Kam Kngwarray’s name at birth was Kam (Kah-mah). Kam means the seeds and seedpods of the pencil yam plant, an important plant on her Country. Her skin name is Kngwarray. The name Emily was given to her by the cattle station owners who colonised Anmatyerr Country. This learning resource will refer to her as Kam or Kam Kngwarray as this was how she is known to her community. The practice of naming people after Country, whether it be plant, animal, or landform, is an Anmatyerr custom that reflects the connection the peoples have to their Country. Anmatyerr people uphold this responsibility in many ways, as curator and Yamatji man Steven Gilchrist acknowledges, Kam truly embodied the seed of which she was named for, representing the potential of this bush food to germinate, to proliferate, and to nourish.

Kam (pencil yam seeds) are associated with growth and fertility. Anmatyerr women participate in awely (ceremony) to ensure the continuing health of the kam. Securing the growth and health of the kam also secures the wellbeing of the Anmatyerr women. As it was Kam Kngwarray’s identity and Dreaming, the health of the kam was particularly important. Her painting, singing, dancing and awely all contribute to the health of the kam. In Anwerlarr Anganenty (Big Yam Dreaming), 1995, Kam shares her identity and Dreaming.

Kngwarray is Kam. She is the seed, the dynamic, and the potential for all Indigenous artists to follow.
Steven Gilchrist

Reflect

• Make a list of your interests, this list can be written or drawn.
• Who inspired you to explore this interest?
• Do some of these interests include family, friends and community?

Kam Kngwarray’s first experience with the Indonesian textile practice of batik-making came in 1977, when artists Suzanne Bryce and Pitjantjatjara woman Kunytjitja Brown facilitated a week-long workshop in Utopia on Anmatyerr Country. Kam Kngwarray and other artists in Utopia, embraced batik techniques to share their connections to Country. In Untitled, 1981, Kam created a work that connects her community, the kam and Anmatyerr Country.

Kam Kngwarray and other Utopia artists began to create batiks for sale. Presenting many benefits, the batiks shared Anmatyerr culture with the world and provided economic resources to strengthen the artists' practices. Funds from the sale of the batiks helped pay for legal fees that supported Anmatyerr’s land rights claim. Importantly, the batiks played a central role as legal evidence of the Anmatyerr people's connection to their Country.

The judge gave the Country back after everybody had shown it to him. Then we painted ourselves with the designs from the Country. After that we danced, 'This is the Country'.
Emily Kam Kngwarray

Research

• What other First Nations land rights claims have you learnt about?
• Many First Nations artists create works about land rights. Research these artists and their works of art.
• Consider how these artists have, and continue to, use their practice to actively participate in and shape the land rights movement.

The inspiration and leader that Kam was for Anmatyerr women is embodied within the 1988-89 Summer Project. The installation of 81 paintings includes works by Kam Kngwarray, Ada Bird Petyarr, Lily Kngwarray Sandover, and many other nationally recognised artists. The Summer Project exemplifies the diversity of individual styles within the Anmatyerr community, and the depth of generational knowledge of Anmatyerr women.

Art was a way for Kam to pass on knowledge to younger generations, as Anmatyerr woman Jedda Kngwarray Purvis said this is how the old people used to do things - well, now we can learn and follow their way. Kam was a leader for Anmatyerr artists and First Nations artists across the continent. She embodied how art is not removed and separate from daily life for First Nations artists.

This exhibition is a reminder that the stories and places Kngwarray painted and referenced are real. The culture that informed them is very much alive. This is a living retrospective.
Kelli Cole & Hetti Perkins

Reflect

• What communities are you a part of?
• What have you learnt from and with them?
• What are the benefits of learning with others?

You already have a list of words or drawings that represent your interests. These interests begin to represent your identity.

Create a self-portrait using your list. Take two or three items from the list to create a work of art using any medium you want (drawing, sculptural, photography, etc.).

Avoid including your physical features. Your work should represent who you are, not what you look like, you can incorporate symbols, colours, and words that are unique to you.