MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE ATNWENGERRP

 MINNIE PWERLE
AWELYE ATNWENGERRP,  2002
137 x 91 cm
Synthetic Polymer Paint on Belgian Linen
 
PROVENANCE
Utopia, NT
Urapuntja Artists, Utopia NT Cat. No: FMMPw0206Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Vic (label verso)Sotheby's Aboriginal Art, October 2006, Lot 147Private Collection, VicMossgreen Auctions, Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, April 2008, Lot No. 61Private Collection, Vic 
 
STORY
Minnie Pwerle did not begin painting until 1999 by which time she was well into her 70s. Over the next seven years her output was prodigious and extremely popular, most especially amongst women, and she was able to support a number of close relatives with the income she generated.Minnieā€™s primary focus was the Bush Melon and the ceremonies conducted to increase its abundance. Her Awelye-Antnwengerrp paintings drew directly from these ceremonial practices, depicting bush melon, seed, and breast designs in powerful multi-coloured brushstrokes that built into a structured patchwork of luminous colour most often upon a darker under-layer. The energy of these vibrant colourful works seemed to capture the thrill of coming across these sweet bush foods, now scarce and difficult to find, and the joy she felt when participating in ceremony.