The painting depicts the vibrant colours found on the Kutjuta (Tomato) plant and fruit during different seasons. Kutjuta is a Bush Tomato which is still harvested and eaten.

Kutjuta is the fruit eaten by the Old Man Turkey and Emu during the creation of Ngarleyekwerlang.

In 1988 Biologist Peter Latz decided to follow up stories he’d heard and investigated reports of the giant pumpkins in an area about 200 kilometres north east of Alice Springs, a place near Ti Tree, that’s in Anmatyerre country and getting close to the centre of Australia. What he found was a new species of native sweet potato, which grows in very low nutrition soil, making it an ideal food crop for soil depleted countries. These certain Bush Potato grows only in this region. He went and had a look and got the right Aboriginal people from that country, my grandfather’s country and they took him down and showed him. He described them like an underground pumpkin because the top part grows like a pumpkin but it’s got these huge tubers under the ground. You’ve got to have the knowledge of Aboriginal people to be able to find them because once the vines are separated it’s very difficult to trace the potatoes.

If you would like to know more about Bush Tomato Dreaming and the relationship with Aboriginal Art and culture, please read the following articles:

• Aboriginal Food
• Aboriginal Culture
• Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories