Lilly Kemarre Morton
Language:Alyawarr Date of birth:1945-12-31 Community:Ampilatwatja
Language:Alyawarr Date of birth:1945-12-31 Community:Ampilatwatja
Lilly’s predominant theme in her paintings is ‘strong bush medicine’, demonstrating a deep connection to her country. In keeping with the religious laws, Lilly reveals only a small amount of knowledge to the uninitiated. The esoteric information that is held sacred to her and her people is concealed from the public and layered underneath the common visual narrative, masked by the delicate layered dots of the painting.
Lilly inspires all her female relations, many of whom are accomplished artists and she shares her stories about life before white man when they lived traditionally off of the land, and walked with her mother and grandmothers across their country.
Lilly’s husband Banjo is the man that led the well-known walk off from Ampilatwatja community in 2010, protesting for a better way of life for his people. The first walk off in 1949 was with a small group of other Aboriginal stockmen demanding wages instead of rations.