MINNIE PWERLE - BODY PAINTING

 MINNIE PWERLE
BODY PAINTING,  
151 x 100 cm
Synthetic Polymer Paint on Canvas
 
PROVENANCE
Utopia, NT
Urapuntja Artists, Utopia NTPrivate Collection, NYC USACoo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW 
 
STORY
In this painting Minnie shows us sacred ceremonial sites and the body paint designs worn by women when performing ceremonies celebrating the bush melon in her homeland. Body painting carries a deep spiritual significance for Aboriginal people. The Utopia Cultural Centre and Utopia Awely Batik Corporation was funded between 1995 and 1998 by ATSIC. Then Urapuntja Artists Utopia, established as a community artistsā€™ organisation funded through ATSIC and affiliated with Desart, ran until 2002. There were some 150 artists, both men and women, working through the centre. The artists experimented with different mediums. In 2004, the Utopia artists joined with Artists of Ampilatwatja, further to the north, to form Sandover Art. A commercial outlet was established in Alice Springs, however, the new organisation ceased shortly thereafter.
 
EXHIBITED
35th Anniversary Exhibition, Oxford Street, Dec 16- Jan 2017