ABORIGINAL DESERT ART  GALLERY

JOSIE PETRICK KEMARRE

Josie Petrick Kemarre is an artist in the purest sense - One who creates things that have form and beauty.

Josie was born in 1954 at Santa Teresa. She has always lived a semi-traditional lifestyle, spending her early years foraging - searching for bush foods. This was the way of life for Central Desert families throughout the generations, this was their formal education, what living each day was all about - just as her mother had done, her mothers mother and her grandmothers mother before that.

Josie's first job was working at the Santa Teresa mission as a chef, with memories of "makin' em all soup" She met her husband Robin there, and after her bush marriage moved with him to an area of Utopia called Mt Swan. Together they have 7 children 3 girls and 4 boys. She has also "grown up" her younger sisters son.

Josie began painting 10 years ago, her earlier works are quite typical of "Utopia Art" Much line work depicting Bodypaint designs, and many traditional symbols seen in Central Desert Dot paintings. Her most recent collection titled "Bush Tucker" portrays the abundance of colours found within the landscape of the Central Desert.

Josie has a special affinity with colour which make her works glow. As humans we all react to colour, varying hues stir up emotions inside of us that we subconsciously relate to. Her colour choice and combinations express a powerful vision - merging complementary and conflicting tones to create a kaleidoscope of joy. Her love of being an artist is evident in the energetic canvases produced and her incredible ability to touch each one of us in a special kind of way. Through her work she communicates simplicity and innocence, qualities which make Josie Petrick Kemarre an artist of great talent and potential.

Exhibitions:

Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery 1995
Jinta Desert Art Sydney 1995
Perth December 1996
Melbourne October 1996
Embassy of Australia, Washington DC. 1999
Embassy of Australia, New York City 1999
United Nations, New York City 1999

Aboriginal paintings are based on myths of the Dreamtime. In modern dot representation, the sacred aspect of the painting is not always revealed, but the meaning remains, transmitted through symbols which are easily understood.

Each person has particular Dreaming to which they belong and they have special ceremonial dances and songs that combine together to form a unique religion that makes up the lives of the Aboriginal people. All things related to the land and thus the land is of great importance to them. The land is the keeper of the Dreaming and must be kept safe for all time so that the Dreaming stories, which are told in the paintings, can be preserved.

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

While many ceremonies are open or public, many are secret to varying degrees. The categories of people who can be present are restricted; groups such as women, girls and uninitiated men and strangers would all have limitations placed on them in relation to men's ceremonies; men, boys and uninitiated girls would have similar restrictions placed on them in relation to women's ceremonies

BUSH BERRY DREAMING

This painting describes the search for bush tucker across the Central Desert landscape which is an important part of Aboriginal life. Not only as a means of day to day survival but as a way of ensuring the continued fertility of human and ancestral populations. Bush tucker is freely available for those who know where to look. Women are the principle gatherers of bush tucker, always on the lookout for food, edible roots, plants and seeds. Seasons denote different varieties of food available, combined with the natural elements of sun and rain determine the abundance of Bush Tucker.

This painting by Josie show us the area near Utopia, approximately 270 km North East of Alice Springs. The purple colouring dots depicts the Bush Berries in their raw state. The red colouring shows us the bush berries during the stages of cooking. The women have been out after the rain, collecting the berries, when they are most abundant.

The story illustrated is not only in the ritual of gathering and eating, There is also an aerial perspective of the earth which shows the everchanging colours and textures in the Central Desert Landscape and the life cycle of the plant -its growth and form - before and after the rain.