For Elizabeth Mbitjana Pitijana, the story of Arnwekety (bush plum) is a precious family gift. The Anmatyerr artist, who lives at the Camel Camp outstation in Utopia, about 250km northeast of Alice Springs, comes from a long line of painters, including her father, Motorbike Paddy, and late mother, Kathleen Ngale. Her parents’ dreaming was of Arnwekety, a food source in the Central Desert. Now, Pitijana dreams it to life, too.

The artist has had her work shown at group exhibitions as far afield as London and exhibited with her father at Darwin’s Outstation Gallery in 2023—a show that included both of their interpretations of Arnwekety side by side. Her first solo show in Melbourne also focuses on the fruit, and rewards careful viewing and close examination to notice and appreciate all the intricate details. Every so often, a tiny splash of colour will disrupt the black and white. “Her work is truly unique and striking—she has developed a recognisable and distinctive style utilising subtle tones to almost monochromatic effect,” says Bill Nuttall, director at Niagara Galleries.

The influence and love of her Country and culture is palpable in these paintings, but Nuttall admires, too, the echoes of other forms of contemporary art. “For me, Elizabeth’s palette is remarkably evocative of important minimalist artists such as the late Robert Hunter and the late Ad Reinhardt, both of whom were well known for their spare white paintings, often with the inclusion of subtle undercurrents of primary colour,” he says.

This show may only include Pitijana’s paintings, but the memories of her family are there, too. Considered all together, their dreamings of Arnwekety make up a triptych of generational experience.

Elizabeth Mbitjana Pitijana
Niagara Galleries
13—30 November

This article was originally published in the November/December print issue of Art Guide Australia.