ABORIGINAL DESERT ART  GALLERY

GLORIA PETYARRE

Born c.1945, and an Anmatyerre speaker, her country is Atnangkere and her Dreamings are as for Ada Bird: Mountain Devil Lizard, Bean, Emu, Pencil Yam, Grass Seed and Small Brown Grass. She has four sisters who are also artists: Ada Bird, Violet Myrtle, and Kathleen.

She first gained recognition as an artist working in the medium of Batik, exhibiting with the Utopia Women in shows around Australia and abroad for a decade (1977-87) before taking up the medium of canvas, painting her first work for CAAMA's Summer Project exhibition.

In 1990 she traveled to Ireland, London and India as a representative of the Utopia women, accompanying the 'Utopia: A Picture Story' exhibition (Tandanya, Adelaide, The Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin Ireland, and Meat Market Gallery, Melbourne, 1991). In 1991 she had her first solo exhibition at Utopia Art in Sydney. Her work is based on the body paint designs for her Dreamings, at first showing clearly the designs painted across the women's breasts and shoulders in the ceremony.

Since those early, highly distinctive works, she has developed her paintings to higher levels of abstraction, continually experimenting with line and colour. She says she prefers the greater freedom and control she finds with the medium of acrylic on canvas. Several of the works in her solo exhibition had no dots at all, but bands of different colour whose optical effects have evoked comparisons with the British artist Bridget Riley. Gloria's husband, Ronnie Price Mpetyane, started painting in 1989, and does strong men's paintings in dot style as well as neo-western landscapes in vivid colours. They live at Mulga Bore (Akaye Soakage.) Utopia. Gloria has been painting for Michael Hollow Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery, in Alice Springs - Melbourne and Sydney since 1991.

Gloria's work is features on the cover of The Art of Utopia Michael Boulter) Book, and has been included in major survey exhibitions including 'Flash Painting' at the National Gallery of Australia in 1992, the 1991 Art Gallery of NSW touring 'Aboriginal Women's Exhibition', and solo exhibitions in 1991 at Australian Galleries, New York and Utopia Art, Sydney, Desert Art Gallery Melbourne Collections: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Allen Allen and Hemsley, Museum of Victoria, Museums & Art Galleries of NT, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Westpac, New York, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Michael Hollow Collection, Holmes`a Court,etc. On her visits to Alice Springs Gloria paints at "The Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery".

In Central Australia, some 1,800 square kilometers of land is known as 'Utopia', where Gloria lives. Gloria's work on canvas began in the late 1980's after experimenting and working with Batik.

BUSH MEDICINE LEAVES

PAINTED BY GLORIA PETYARRE

In this painting Gloria shows us the Bush Medicine Dreaming. The Bush Medicine painting depicts the leaves of a special plants that is used to aid in the healing process.

The women go to different places around Utopia to collect leaves from special plants. Back at the camp the leaves are boiled to extract resin. Kangaroo fat is mixed into the resin, creating a paste that can be stored for a long time in bush conditions. This medicine is used to heal cuts, wounds, bites, rashes and also acts as an insect repellant.

By painting about " Bush Medicine Dreaming " Gloria is paying homage to the spirit of the medicine plant in the hope that it will regenerate, enabling the people to use its healing powers.

Women perform the bush medicine ceremony at different times of the year. In preparation for the ceremony the women paint their bodies with special markings for that particular ceremony. Ochre and Spinifex ashes are mixed with Kangaroo or Emu fat to make the body-paint. Body-painting ranges from simply smearing clay across the face, to intrinsic full body patterning.

Ceremonies always involve song, dance and body decoration, The ownership, management and performance of the ceremony is dependent upon knowledge and status.

Gloria is very confident and proud when speaking of her traditional ways. She paints with harmony manifested by a seemingly effortless skill and an apparently natural sense of peace and charm; qualities reflecting her persona acclaiming the spirit of her people.