ABIE KEMARRE LOY - BODY PAINTING

 ABIE KEMARRE LOY
BODY PAINTING,  2004
152 x 91cm
synthetic polymer paint on belgian linen
 
PROVENANCE
Utopia, NT
Gallerie Australis, S.ACoo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW 
 
STORY
As a younger women, Abie Loy had to be be given the right to paint certain aspects of her Dreaming by her female elders. She is part of a grand artistic lineage. Her grandmother, Kathleen Petyarre, is one of Aboriginal Australiaā€™s most celebrated artists. Her aunt is renowned painter Gloria Petyarre. Until she reached 30 years of age her repertoire was restricted to certain aspects of the Bush Hen Dreaming. Later she was allowed to paint the story of the Bush Leaf, which grows in a swamp near sandhills in her grandfatherā€™s country. They are often referred to as Bush Medicine Leaves due to their wonderful curative properties.  They are used for a range of illnesses including colds, headaches, and sores.In her more recent paintings she depicts the marks that she and her female relatives apply to their bodies for important increase ceremonies associated with fertility and cultural maintenance. These often appear as a web of interwoven lines to create an hypnotic field. This evokes the feeling of writhing bodies as they dance across the desert sands or by firelight.
 
EXHIBITED
Autumn Season, December 2009, Coo-ee Art GalleryBarry Stern Galleries, August 2009, Maunsell Wickes