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About the Artists
Our vibrant and dynamic artists are from the Utopia region; a large remote area of Central Australia which, until recently, had no government funded art centre. As a result of their pioneering efforts, they have one of the strongest and richest art histories.
PAST EXHIBITION
Desert Yam
18 Nov - 23 Jan 2023
Twelve new works by Utopia elder and ngangker, Jeannie Mills Pwerle, that represent the Desert Yam.
ABOUT
Jeannie is an Australian artist known for her beautiful depictions of the Desert Yam. She is also a 57 year old, an Alyawarr woman, a natural born leader, community provider, daughter of a ngangker (a bush doctor or healer), niece of an elder, a sister, a foster parent and a fur baby mumma.
She's also a ngangker herself, and always has a supply of bush medicine made and ready for those who come to her for help.⠀⠀
[Pictured: Jeannie Mills with ilpengk bush medicine she has made]
Today, Jeannie sits in a shaded nook outside her front door getting ready to work on a piece for this exhibition.
All of her paints and supplies are here as if it were the location of her permanent studio. Yesterday her place of choice was on a carpeted plank of concrete out in the sunshine [pictured].
There are several or so other family members around, sitting in the shade by the fence or on a sofa beneath a large eucalypt in the front yard. Some children going in and out the front door.
There is a firepit aglow producing a gentle flow of smoke by the carport where Jeannie's mother, Dolly, is getting ready to make damper.
Jeannie carefully unrolls and shows off a canvas which has been painted from top to bottom in a series of beautiful disjointed lines. The palette is a melange of stone blues and soft greens.
Jeannie painted these yesterday using an ombre technique to blend the colours. Today she is framing each line with small white dots.
As with all the exhibition pieces, this painting represents the Desert Yam.
Jeannie still loves to go out on the homelands collecting anaty.
[Pictured: Jeannie digging for anaty desert yams. She has with her a modern day digging stick and coolamon (crow bar and billy can)]
Please enjoy these twelve beautiful new Desert Yam paintings by Jeannie made especially for this exhibition 🤍
