Christine Brown Glenelg Art Gallery

“My Mother was born under a Quandong Tree, I like to paint quandongs to remember her”

Christine Nakamara (Brown) was born in Alice Springs in 1965 and grew up in a Catholic Mission,
with her grandmother, who was a dress-maker at Amoonguna Settlement, at the time the Catholic Missionary was running.

She then moved to South Australia – to Ernabella, where she grew up, and now lives in Adelaide.
Her  Language is Central Arrente from her fathers side. 

​Christine went to the Yirara College (Alice Springs)  in 1979, and now lives in Adelaide.
​Christine paints the women’s stories of her bush tucker and life in the bush lands.
​Each Artwork has a Certificate of Authenticity which explains the meanings.

Christine’s Uncle was Two Bob Tjungurrayi

“Karra Wadlu Yaitya Purruna: Bush Shrubs Make You Healthy ” Exhibition features three of Christine’s worK

We see two women crossing Country towards the wild tomatoes
Christine Brown Glenelg Art Gallery
Christine brown Glenelg Art Gallery
Christine brown Glenelg Art Gallery
Christine Brown Glenelg Art Gallery
Christine Brown Glenelg Art Gallery
“Two women digging for Honey Ants” Medium: Acrylic on canvas Size: 64 x 29cm Stretched ready to hang Signed on the back by Christine The rows of dots represent the desert sands. The women are the two U shapes, next to them are their Digging Sticks, used to dig up the Honey Ants, and their Coolomons – wooden bowls used to keep the bush tucker in. The women have found three Honey Ant Nests. The gathering of food and medicine is a group activity and responsibility of the women for the whole community.
ChristineBrown Glenelg Art Gallery
Christine brown Glenelg Art Gallery
Bush Tomatoes”
Medium: Acrylic on art board Size: 30.5 x 30.5cm
Signed on the back by Christine This is a story of the man and the women, travelling together across Spinifex Country’ This is the land Christine is from, red sand and sparse bush, in north South Australia (APY) The double lines show the path they are taking. They have found some wild tomatoes and have settled down to enjoy them. We see the man on one side, he has his spear and his hunting boomerang. The women on the other side, has her digging stick and her coolomon. The dots are the sand and five plants are the spinifex plants.
$120
Christine Brown Glenelg Art Gallery
“Honey Ants” are an important source of sweetness out bush. Women go together to collect them for the tribe, 1000’s at a time.
(They don’t bite !)