In her paintings, Pitjara Hunter symbolizes all that is associated with Awely - the decorated torsos of the women the women's ceremonial sites or dreaming places where women are gathered and the other representations of the ceremony – digging and music sticks, coolamons and feather adornments.

Susan sketches her entire work in pencil before begins applying acrylic paint. She then applies her paint with the finely sharpened end of a stick. The result is a myriad of expertly executed dots forming an abstract whole. She takes months to complete her larger more complex works.

‘At dusk each day, women begin the verses of the song cycle that tell of the Ancestor coming to that place. The song ‘brings’ the power closer, with each verse naming the country or plants and telling of incidents on the way. Women paint their upper bodies with ocher during this phase and sing and ‘dance’ the Ancestor along. These Ancestors may appear as super-powerful humans or in the form of animals such as honey ants or snakes.’

An extract from Spirit Country by Jennifer Isaacs, Hardie Grant Books, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.