Man Yam 2003

A variety of bush tucker is incised into the surface of Man Yam, including ndhapal (matchbox bean), chika (wild ground orchid), ‘anj (arrowroot) and ngganj (water chestnut) and what appears to be ndwapayn (yam flower) and ayawur (wild hibiscus). The bush tucker depicted on Man Yam is the traditional food of the Thaynakwith peoples and each holds varying degrees of economic, nutritional, medicinal or ceremonial importance. (Man yams have seeds, while Woman yams have the flowers.)

The significance of Country in this work points to a tense history between the Thaynakwith peoples and the Comalco mine in Weipa. Although the bush where yams are plentiful may be regarded by the mining corporation as nondescript scrub, the sustenance that Country provides for those who look after it was not lost on Thanakupi.