EMILY KAME KNGWARREYE (EMILY KAM KNGWARRAY), Anooralya Life Cycle, 1994

EMILY KAME KNGWARREYE (EMILY KAM KNGWARRAY) Anmatyerre language, 1910 - 1996 Anooralya Life Cycle, 1994 acrylic on linen 153 x 91.5 cm bears inscription verso: Emily Kngwarreye, 94A046 PROVENANCE Delmore Gallery, Northern Territory, Cat No. 94A046 acquired from the above in February 2000 The Collection of Barbara Hansen, Victoria Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and an original receipt from Delmore Gallery This vibrant painting reflects the Anooralya (yam), a plant of profound cultural and spiritual significance to Emily Kame Kngwarreye (Emily Kam Kngwarray) and her Country, Alhalker. Hardy and prolific, the Anooralya provides both an edible tuber and a seed-bearing flower known as Kame, from which the artist takes her name. Emily's expressive use of yellow evokes the abundant flowering of the Kame, whose blooms emerge across the landscape following seasonal rains. Her energetic, double-dipped brushstrokes create a rhythmic surface that celebrates the flourishing vegetation above ground and the precious food sources concealed beneath the earth. The painting can also be understood as an evocation of the seasonal movement of water through Country. Rainfall gathers and flows along broad, shallow watercourses, replenishing the soakage at Alalgura and encouraging the rapid regeneration of plant life. The resulting abundance reflects the intimate relationship between water, vegetation and the cycles of renewal that sustain the desert environment. For Kngwarreye, these natural processes were inseparable from the ceremonial responsibilities she shared with her clanswomen. Through song, dance and ceremony, they maintained their connection to Country and the ancestral knowledge associated with its fertility and regeneration. The verses of the ceremonial song cycles reinforce this knowledge, encompassing the principles of survival, social relationships and cultural obligations passed down through generations. Through its luminous colour and vigorous mark-making, this work embodies Kngwarreye's profound understanding of Country, bringing together the flowering of the Anooralya, the movement of water and the enduring significance of ceremony in a powerful expression of life and renewal. © Emily Kam Kngwarray / Copyright Agency, 2026

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