This painting depicts particular leaves, which contain medicinal properties. The Aboriginal women from Eutopia in Central Australia gathered the leaves, which were boiled, resin added and mixed into a paste, which was then used as bush medicine for many ailments.

The Bush Medicine Dreaming is celebrated in Awelye ceremonies.

Well known for their reliquary figures, the Fang also danced finely sculpted masks during a number of ritual activities. Among the Fang, white painted masks identified with the Ngil society are known for their elegant abstractions of the human face. Ngil masks have been described as having a "heart-shaped" face due to the facial features, emphasizing refined curves of the orbital ridges above the eyes and the prominent line of the long tapering nose that ended above a mouth, discreetly carved at the bottom of the chin, that completes the abstraction of the face.

The Fang people used masks in their secret societies. Members of this male society wore the Ngil masks during the initiation of new members and the persecution of wrong-doers. Masquereders, clad in raffia costumes and attended by helpers, would materialise in the village after dark, illuminated by flickering torchlight.

Senaka Senanayake is a contemporary Sri Lankan painter. His work, characterised by its brilliantly coloured scenes of lush, overlapping jungle fauna and vegetation, has earned him a reputation as one of Sri Lanka’s most appreciated artists. “Many times, people walk by a piece of art and don’t respond,” he has explained. “I want my paintings to talk. Everyone from a street sweeper to a university professor should be able to relate to my art”

The artist has been the subject of solo exhibitions around the world in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Berlin, among many others. Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1951, he went on to study art at Yale University.

Senanayake draws influence from a diverse range of sources, including his childhood experience, the vibrant landscape of his home country, and archaic forms of Buddhist art.

Faye Leung is a graduate of Central St Martins, London

The Bush Plum (also known as Ahakeye) is a native shrub found throughout the drier areas of Northern and Central Australia and is of great significance to the Aboriginal people. The Bush Plum shrub has white flowers and small edible fruits which change colour from green through to purple and black as the fruit ripens. This is why it is often referred to as the black currant or grape. The fruit has small black seeds, and the women collect and distribute these seeds, scattering them across the desert. This scattering technique, whether naturally or by hand, is an integral part of desert life as it maintains a continued growth and harvest during winter months. Because of its significance as a food source, the Bush Plum is also a totem of many Aboriginal people and has an altyerre associated with it.

Artists may depict the fruit at different stages which is why so many Bush Plum Dreaming artworks vary in style.

The bold linear patterns of stripes and curves depicts the Women’s Ceremony body paint design. After smearing their bodies with animal fat, the women trace these designs onto their breasts, arms and thighs, singing as each woman has a turn to be “painted up”.

The songs relate to the Dreamtime stories of Ancestral Travel and other plants, animals and natural forces. Awelye – Women’s Ceremony – demonstrates respect for the land and in performing these ceremonies they ensure well-being and happiness within the communities.

Jimmy Pike (c1940-2202) became one of Australia’s most famous Aboriginal artist during the 1990’s when he exhibited widely, both paintings and limited edition prints, that told the stories of his early life in the Great Sandy Desert. He stated that “My work is painting and drawing, telling stories from the Dreamtime and about places where Dreamtime people travelled through my country”.

He introduced vivid colour into his work, when most high profile Aboriginal desert artists were painting with the earth colours that were dominant in the 1980’s. Some of this colour was introduced by Pike’s love of Texta colour ink pens that gave an instantaneous colour aura to all of his paintings.

The artist is well represented in the collections of all major Australian public galleries and museums, including National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Victoria and Australian Museum.