CHARMAINE PWERLE - SPIRIT DREAMING
CHARMAINE PWERLE
AWELYE, 2016
150 x 250 cmacrylic on canvas
REGION
Utopia, NT
PROVENANCE
Delmore Gallery, NT Cat No. 16E020
Private collection, USA
bears inscription verso: cataloguing details
accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Delmore Gallery
STORY
Spirit Dreaming motif relates to Awelye, women’s body-paint designs, connected to Atnwengerrp in the Utopia region. In keeping with cultural practice, specific story details remain private; what is shared here is the public patterning and its felt connection to ceremony, Country and kin.
Worked freehand, the lines move at a steady pace across the surface, crossing, returning and opening out again. Variation in pressure and spacing creates a gentle pulse: denser passages suggest gathering and emphasis; lighter stretches allow the eye to rest. The limited palette keeps attention on structure and rhythm. Negative space is active, not empty, each pause between marks is part of the design, much like intervals in song and dance.
The painting sits within a strong familial lineage. Charmaine Pwerle is the granddaughter of Minnie Pwerle and the daughter of Barbara Weir, and the influence of senior women’s teaching is present in the assured handling of the motif. Yet Spirit Dreaming speaks clearly in Charmaine’s own voice, pared back, confident, and attentive to balance. The work reads as both immediate and measured: a record of the artist’s hand at work and a continuation of a living tradition.
Seen up close, the painting rewards slow looking. Rather than offering a literal map or narrative, it holds space for recognition, the memory of body-painting designs, the rhythm of ceremony, and the presence of ancestral guidance signalled by the title. In 2016, this clarity of line and restraint of palette mark a mature, thoughtful approach to an enduring story.
@ CHARMAINE PWERLE / Copyright Agency, 2025
ARTIST PROFILE
