D E S E R T A R T a t N A R K O O J E E

M I N N I E P W E R L E

Minnie Pwerle was born in the Utopia region north east of Alice Springs circa 1922. Her country is Atnwengerrp and her languages are Anmatyerre and Alyawarre. She has seven children, one of which is Barbara Weir who is a well-known Aboriginal artist.

She started painting recently, in 1999, and found instant success after her first exhibition in Melbourne in the following year. After a show at the AMP building in Sydney with her daughter Barbara Weir during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, her reputation increased even further. Her incredible painting ability and capacity for abstract design gathered her an enthusiastic following of art lovers, collectors and critics alike, and she now paints for galleries nationwide. She has since had several exhibitions at prestigious galleries in Australia and New Zealand, and her work is now in many leading collections in Australia and overseas.

T H E P A I N T I N G S

The Paintings Minnie paints three subject matters: ‘Awelye-Atnwengerrp’, ‘Bush Melon’ and ‘Bush Melon Seed’, which are her Dreamings, conveying her love and respect for the land and the food it provides the people. ‘Awelye-Atnwengerrp’ (‘Awelye’ is the body paint design used in women’s ceremony, ‘Atnwengerrp’ – pronounced ang-yun-a-pa – is the artist’s traditional land) is depicted by ‘U’ shapes filled with horizontal lines of different widths and colours painted against a black or coloured background. This pattern represents the lines painted on the top half of the women’s bodies during ceremonies in their country of Atnwengerrp.

‘Bush Melon’ is depicted by concentric circles and breast designs in different colours, creating a very loose and bold pattern. ‘Bush Melon Seed’ paintings consist of small, brightly coloured circles strewn across the canvas. Both these Dreamings tell the story of this lovely sweet food that comes from a very small bush and is only found in Atnwengerrp. Once very abundant and fruiting in the summer season, the Bush Melon is now very hard to find.

Minnie paints with a stark, bold palette of reds, ultramarine and indigo blues, bright oranges, bright yellow, and lots of white on black, and is not inclined to blend paint or diffuse it with light, rather working with contrast instead.

U T O P I A

Utopia is approximately 230km north east of Alice Springs. Since the achievements of the famous late Utopia artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye during the 1990s, Central Desert art has continued to feature prominently on the Australian art scene, in exhibitions, galleries, private collections and auctions. Unlike its counterpart, Western Desert art, Utopia art has, since its inception, featured women artists predominantly. Artists such as Emily were noted not just for their incredible painting ability, but also for their powerful personalities which were as present in the boldness of their brushstrokes and the vibrancy of their colours as they were in personal conversations.

E M I L Y K A M E K N G W A R R E Y E /
B A R B A R A W E I R

Emily Kame Kngwarreye was an art phenomenon – a tribal Aboriginal woman in her eighties who painted works which were consistently compared to (with great reason) many of the greats of modern art; Rothko, de Kooning, Pollock and even the French Impressionists. Her work captured the essence of pure sensation, in the way Impressionism aimed to, but even more directly. She shook modern Australian art to its very foundations, and put Utopia on the art map of the world.

Barbara Weir is the daughter of Minnie Pwerle and a white man, taken from Utopia Station as a child by the Native Welfare Patrol. She did not rediscover her family and country until many years later, in the late 1960s. She spent time at Papunya, where she lived and worked with many of the men who were founders of the desert art painting movement. On her return to Utopia, she spent years re-familiarising herself with Minnie and was reintroduced to her traditional heritage by Emily. She began painting in the early 1990s, and her paintings are derived from her mother’s and maternal grandfather’s country.

A B O R I G I N A L D E S E R T A R T

Traditional Aboriginal desert paintings were created for a specific purpose or function, forming an important part of religious ceremonies. This conception of art is quite distinct from the western understanding of art as an autonomous practice.

The life of the people of the desert communities is based on the Dreaming or Tjukurrpa, in the form of stories that are passed down from generation to generation. They explain where their law comes from and why it should be observed. The stories weave a framework to create a harmonious whole between the existence of everything in the universe and the spiritual, natural and moral elements therein.

The Dreamtime is unlike time periods in western culture. It is all time – past, present and future – in which the creation of the world takes place, a time that has not necessarily ceased. This creation was performed by beings or spirits which are the ancestors of the people of today, such as the rainbow serpent, who left a trail of his travels in the desert sand in the form of a riverbed. In this way, the land is not only the habitat of the people but also their physical and spiritual ancestor.

Contemporary Aboriginal Desert Art began at Papunya in the early 1970s, when a new willingness to embody traditional themes in permanent media led to an outpouring of creativity. The content of the contemporary works are the body and ground painting designs of the Dreaming stories that were executed for ceremony. In many cases they are aerial views of the land where the stories take place, and are a type of map showing geography, history and mythology. The epic journeys of the ancestor spirits can be traced by their tracks across the canvas.

Each individual artist has their own Dreaming story that they are permitted to paint. These are often bestowed during the initiation period of the artist’s life. They inherit the Dreaming from the ancestors through their parents and grandparents.

A B O R I G I N A L G A L L E R Y O F
D R E A M I N G S

The paintings described above are shown by courtesy of the Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings (73-75 Bourke Street Melbourne, +613 9650 3277). The Gallery has collected works by Utopia artists for over a decade and also holds an extensive collection of works by other leading figures in the contemporary Aboriginal Art movement.

The Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings also manages the Nangara collection, a major collection of over 800 seminal works of contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art. Masterpieces from the Nangara collection have been exhibited internationally for more than twelve years. For further information visit the Nangara site at http://www.nangara.com/

N A R K O O J E E

Narkoojee was proud to display these important paintings in its new winery from December 2004 to April 2006, and is most grateful to Hank Ebes, Managing Director of the Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, for providing them. Further information on Narkoojee’s plans and products, and on forthcoming events, can be found elsewhere on this website or by contacting Harry Friend on +613 5192 4257.

Print or save this brochure (pdf file).
Back to Narkoojee Home Page
Images & text courtesy of the Aboriginal Gallery of Dreaming

Graphic Design by Daniel Kumnick

Web design by Paul Kumnick


	M I N N I E P W E R L E
		Minnie Pwerle was born in the Utopia region north east of Alice Springs circa 1922. Her country is Atnwengerrp and her languages are Anmatyerre and Alyawarre. She has seven children, one of which is Barbara Weir who is a well-known Aboriginal artist. She started painting recently, in 1999, and found instant success after her first exhibition in Melbourne in the following year. After a show at the AMP building in Sydney with her daughter Barbara Weir during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, her reputation increased even further. Her incredible painting ability and capacity for abstract design gathered her an enthusiastic following of art lovers, collectors and critics alike, and she now paints for galleries nationwide. She has since had several exhibitions at prestigious galleries in Australia and New Zealand, and her work is now in many leading collections in Australia and overseas.
	T H E P A I N T I N G S
		The Paintings Minnie paints three subject matters: ‘Awelye-Atnwengerrp’, ‘Bush Melon’ and ‘Bush Melon Seed’, which are her Dreamings, conveying her love and respect for the land and the food it provides the people. ‘Awelye-Atnwengerrp’ (‘Awelye’ is the body paint design used in women’s ceremony, ‘Atnwengerrp’ – pronounced ang-yun-a-pa – is the artist’s traditional land) is depicted by ‘U’ shapes filled with horizontal lines of different widths and colours painted against a black or coloured background. This pattern represents the lines painted on the top half of the women’s bodies during ceremonies in their country of Atnwengerrp.

		‘Bush Melon’ is depicted by concentric circles and breast designs in different colours, creating a very loose and bold pattern. ‘Bush Melon Seed’ paintings consist of small, brightly coloured circles strewn across the canvas. Both these Dreamings tell the story of this lovely sweet food that comes from a very small bush and is only found in Atnwengerrp. Once very abundant and fruiting in the summer season, the Bush Melon is now very hard to find.

		Minnie paints with a stark, bold palette of reds, ultramarine and indigo blues, bright oranges, bright yellow, and lots of white on black, and is not inclined to blend paint or diffuse it with light, rather working with contrast instead.
	U T O P I A
		Utopia is approximately 230km north east of Alice Springs. Since the achievements of the famous late Utopia artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye during the 1990s, Central Desert art has continued to feature prominently on the Australian art scene, in exhibitions, galleries, private collections and auctions. Unlike its counterpart, Western Desert art, Utopia art has, since its inception, featured women artists predominantly. Artists such as Emily were noted not just for their incredible painting ability, but also for their powerful personalities which were as present in the boldness of their brushstrokes and the vibrancy of their colours as they were in personal conversations.
	E M I L Y K A M E K N G W A R R E Y E / B A R B A R A W E I R
		Emily Kame Kngwarreye was an art phenomenon – a tribal Aboriginal woman in her eighties who painted works which were consistently compared to (with great reason) many of the greats of modern art; Rothko, de Kooning, Pollock and even the French Impressionists. Her work captured the essence of pure sensation, in the way Impressionism aimed to, but even more directly. She shook modern Australian art to its very foundations, and put Utopia on the art map of the world. Barbara Weir is the daughter of Minnie Pwerle and a white man, taken from Utopia Station as a child by the Native Welfare Patrol. She did not rediscover her family and country until many years later, in the late 1960s. She spent time at Papunya, where she lived and worked with many of the men who were founders of the desert art painting movement. On her return to Utopia, she spent years re-familiarising herself with Minnie and was reintroduced to her traditional heritage by Emily. She began painting in the early 1990s, and her paintings are derived from her mother’s and maternal grandfather’s country.
	A B O R I G I N A L D E S E R T A R T
		Traditional Aboriginal desert paintings were created for a specific purpose or function, forming an important part of religious ceremonies. This conception of art is quite distinct from the western understanding of art as an autonomous practice. The life of the people of the desert communities is based on the Dreaming or Tjukurrpa, in the form of stories that are passed down from generation to generation. They explain where their law comes from and why it should be observed. The stories weave a framework to create a harmonious whole between the existence of everything in the universe and the spiritual, natural and moral elements therein. The Dreamtime is unlike time periods in western culture. It is all time – past, present and future – in which the creation of the world takes place, a time that has not necessarily ceased. This creation was performed by beings or spirits which are the ancestors of the people of today, such as the rainbow serpent, who left a trail of his travels in the desert sand in the form of a riverbed. In this way, the land is not only the habitat of the people but also their physical and spiritual ancestor. Contemporary Aboriginal Desert Art began at Papunya in the early 1970s, when a new willingness to embody traditional themes in permanent media led to an outpouring of creativity. The content of the contemporary works are the body and ground painting designs of the Dreaming stories that were executed for ceremony. In many cases they are aerial views of the land where the stories take place, and are a type of map showing geography, history and mythology. The epic journeys of the ancestor spirits can be traced by their tracks across the canvas. Each individual artist has their own Dreaming story that they are permitted to paint. These are often bestowed during the initiation period of the artist’s life. They inherit the Dreaming from the ancestors through their parents and grandparents.
	A B O R I G I N A L G A L L E R Y O F D R E A M I N G S
		The paintings described above are shown by courtesy of the Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings (73-75 Bourke Street Melbourne, +613 9650 3277). The Gallery has collected works by Utopia artists for over a decade and also holds an extensive collection of works by other leading figures in the contemporary Aboriginal Art movement. The Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings also manages the Nangara collection, a major collection of over 800 seminal works of contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art. Masterpieces from the Nangara collection have been exhibited internationally for more than twelve years. For further information visit the Nangara site at http://www.nangara.com/
	N A R K O O J E E
		Narkoojee was proud to display these important paintings in its new winery from December 2004 to April 2006, and is most grateful to Hank Ebes, Managing Director of the Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, for providing them. Further information on Narkoojee’s plans and products, and on forthcoming events, can be found elsewhere on this website or by contacting Harry Friend on +613 5192 4257. Print or save this brochure (pdf file). Back to Narkoojee Home Page Images & text courtesy of the Aboriginal Gallery of Dreaming Graphic Design by Daniel Kumnick Web design by Paul Kumnick