BARBARA WEIR - BODY PAINT
BARBARA WEIR
BODY PAINT, 2005
150 x 90 cm each
Synthetic Polymer Paint on Belgian Linen
REGION
Utopia, NT
PROVENANCE
Dacou Gallery, SA
Private Collection, NSW
Cooee Art Leven, NSW
STORY
This bold linear pattern of intertwined stripes and curves represents the Women's Ceremony body paint design and evokes its shimmer as women dance by firelight. 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. Atnwengerrp is Barbara Weir's Country.
ARTIST PROFILE
