Grass Seed Dreaming, 2017
Acrylic on linen
190 x 120 cm
75 x 47 in
This work depicts the grass which was found at Utopia until the introduction of cattle grazing in the early 20th century.
The grass is important to the Aboriginal people because its seeds were ground up to make flour.
The seeds feel to the ground and were difficult to see, so the Aboriginal people would look for the nesting site of a particular ant. This ant would eat a certain part of the seed then discard the rest. The seeds would be found in a pile outside their nest, the women would collect them clean them and grind them into a flour, which would then be used to make bread.
Due to the availability of ready made bread this practice is no longer common, but the Dreaming for the grass seed has been passed to Barbara from her ancestors and is important to her people.
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