Anaty (Desert Yams)

Jeannie Mills Pwerle

$285.00

Jeannie paints the Anaty (Desert Yam or Bush Potato, Ipomoea costata) story from her father’s country, Irrweltye.

This yam grows underground with its viny shrub growing above ground up to 1 metre high. It is normally found on spinifex sand plains and produces large pink flowers after summer rain. The anaty is a tuber, or swollen root, of the shrub and tastes much like the common sweet potato. It can be eaten raw or cooked and is still a staple food for the desert people where it can be harvested at any time of the year. Some can be found as big as a person’s head.

In her paintings, Jeannie depicts the seed of theanaty (dot work), and the anaty flower (brush work and beautiful colours).