Bush Plum Dreaming by Gracie Pwerle (Purle) Morton Cat 3280GM 128x96cm

In Bush Plum Dreaming , Gracie Pwerle (Purle) Morton depicts the life-giving cycle of the bush plum through intricate scalloped fields of fine dotting. These rhythmic patterns evoke the scattering of bush plum seeds across Country, carried by wind, animals and ancestral movement. The bush plum is a prostrate desert plant of great significance—highly valued as a reliable bush food and renowned for its exceptionally high vitamin C content.

This Dreaming is widely shared across Central Australia, linking families and communities through ancestral law, sustenance and ceremony. The painted designs also reference ceremonial body paint traditionally applied to the chests and breasts of women, affirming women’s cultural authority and their role in the continuation of life and knowledge.

Gracie Morton began painting alongside her great-aunt, the renowned Emily Kngwarreye, first working in batik before transitioning to acrylic on canvas. While grounded in shared cultural knowledge, Morton’s work carries her own distinct visual language—delicate, assured and deeply connected to Country—continuing the legacy of one of Australia’s most significant artistic lineages.