"Bush Onion"
Tansy Martin
120cm x 115cm
TM120115M6 - V61
Bush onion, known in the Warlpiri language as yalka, is a highly valued bush tucker found across Central Australia. Traditionally gathered by women, these small bulbs are dug from the earth when the tops have dried and are eaten raw or cooked in hot sand and ashes. The bush onion is more than a food source, it is part of important Dreaming stories that belong to specific families and custodians.
In Aboriginal art, the rounded shapes and fine dotting often represent the onions themselves, their seeds, or the patterns of their growth across the land. Pathways and curved lines may depict the movement of people gathering them or the underground channels that nourish the plants.
Tansy Martin, a Warlpiri artist from Willowra and granddaughter of the renowned Nancy Napangarti Martin, paints these stories with meticulous dot work and earthy tones. Her Bush Onion paintings celebrate the life-sustaining knowledge passed down through generations, honouring both the spiritual and practical connections between people and Country.