Yam Dreaming
 | B787-9 | Qantas [+] |
The fifth aborigene livery for Qantas was also adapted by Balarinji Design Studios, this time from 1991 artwork ‘Yam Dreaming’ painted by late artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye, one of the most prominent and successful artists in the history of contemporary indigenous Australian art.
Additional details from Balarinji and the Campbelltown City Council Permanent Collection show that Emily Kngwarreye’s name Kame means seed of the yam, or wild potato, and is an ancestral name which identifies the artist with her country Alhalkere. A piercing in her nose where the yam seed was carried embodies her identification with her ancestor of the same name, Alhalkere.
While the maze of lines represent the arterial roots of the yam growing beneath the ground, they also reflect a similar pattern of crazed lines above the ground, which indicates the maturity of the edible yam tuber. It is along these cracks that one digs to obtain the matured yam, a staple food source in the desert. The yam is also culturally very significant and in this painting the life force of nature and ancestral power is evoked. Over the summer of 1990-1991 Emily produced her first paintings on canvas. This style became her signature style. Every painting of Emily’s contains reference to her multiple Dreamings.
Artwork © Campbelltown City Council Permanent Collection
Tags Original Artwork, Traditional Patterns