My name is Kathy. My Anengkerr (dreaming) belongs to my father and my grandfather. They are Warramungu people from Tennant Creek. My grandfather spoke the Warramungu language. My mother is from Ti-Tree, she is an Anmatyerr woman. I grew up with my Aunty, my father’s cousin, an Eastern Arrernte lady. I went to school at Amoonguna and attended Yirara College in Alice Springs. When I was 15 years old, I returned to Ti-Tree with my grandmother, my mother’s mother. While growing up, I learnt English and Arrernte languages. I also learnt the Anmatyerr language, my mother’s language.
I used to watch the ladies while they were painting, and I learnt by watching them. My partner David Stafford and I got involved in painting here in Yuelamu. I paint my father and grandfather’s dreaming, the Flying Ants Dreaming. In the Anengkerr (dreaming) story, the flying ants came from the North side of Yuelamu, in Warramunga country. I also paint Yalka Anengkerr (bush onion dreaming) and Anek Anengkerr (bush potato/yam dreaming).
