Ancestral Calling

The artwork of Yaritja Young, a law woman of the Amata community in South Australia, will be exhibited along with other celebrated Aboriginal women artists at the Olsen Gruin Gallery (www.olsengruin.com), 30 Orchard St. in Manhattan through April 14. Yaritja paints the rock holes and landmarks of her country, entwined with icons and traditional marks that relate to inma (dance) and tjukurpa (dreaming). The twisted lines and shapes mimic tunnels and formations made by the tjala honey ant.

Ancestral Songline

“When I paint, my mind travels back to when I was a child watching my ancestors paint these stories on their bodies and on the caves. My paintings are of my country: my father’s country, my grandmother’s country, the tjala country. Everything that my grandmother taught me I’m teaching to my grandchildren now. They dance because I have shared what I got from my grandmother with my granddaughters so they can know their culture.”