Bush Tucker

Denisa Hatches Ngale

Denisa paints bush tucker that can be found in her country. Featured in this painting is anwekety (conkerberry). The conkerberry (or conkleberry) known as anwekety or bush plum to Denisa, is a sweet black berry that is favoured by desert aboriginals. This fruit looks very similar to a plum and is often referred to in English by Denisa as a ‘bush plum’. They only grow on the plant (Carissa lanceolata) for a few weeks of the year, however Denisa’s people collect plenty of them and store them dry, soaking them ni water again before being consumed. The plant of the conkerberry is a tangled, spiny shrub that can grow up to 2m high. After rain fragrant white flowers bloom. This plant also bares medicinal properties. In this painting, dot work represents anwekety. Denisa painted two coolamons (carved wooden bowls) which are typical instruments used for collecting many bush foods. In this painting, Denisa also paints bush flowers and waterholes (concentric circles).