Medicine Leaves

Esther Haywood Petyarre is an Indigenous Australian artist from the Utopia region in the Northern Territory, a place internationally recognised for its strong community of contemporary Aboriginal women artists. Her work is rooted in her Anmatyerre cultural heritage and reflects Dreaming stories, ceremonial knowledge, and the natural environment of her country. She is known for her depictions of bush medicine plants, watercourses, and Awelye (women’s ceremonial body paint designs), often expressed through intricate dotting, layered compositions, and flowing rhythmic patterns. Petyarre’s paintings combine traditional storytelling with a contemporary artistic style, continuing the cultural legacy of Utopia artists and expressing the deep spiritual connection between people, land, and ancestral knowledge.