Kathleen Petyarre

Kathleen Petyarre was born circa 1940, at the remote location of Atnangkere, an important water soakage for Aboriginal people on the western boundary of Utopia Station, 150 miles north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Kathleen belongs to the Alyawarre / Eastern Anmatyerre clan and speaks Eastern Anmatyerre, with English as her second language. Kathleen, with her daughter Margaret and her sisters, settled at Mosquito Bore, on Utopia Station near her birthplace. Kathleen now spends part of the year at her residence in Adelaide. Kathleen's mother and seven sisters have managed to hold onto their land near Utopia Station as a group, establishing a camp at Atneltyeye Boundary Bore.

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My Country - Samdstorm Dreaming

The lines in the painting indicate body-paint. The small dots depicted throughout the painting represent a variety of seed, which are an important food supply for the Aboriginal people. The seeds are also used to make bush medicine. The older women take the young girls to different places around Utopia to collect seeds from special plants. Back at the camp the seeds are dried and some are boiled to extract the resin. Kangaroo or emu fat is mixed into the resin, creating a paste, that can be stored for a long time in bush conditins. This medicine is used to heal cuts, wounds, bites, rashes and also acts as an insect repellent.

Body-paint designs in a painting is an indication that the women are preparing or performing a ceremony. Ceremonies to the Aboriginal people are like schools to us. Eash ceremony aims to teach the young, exchange and pass on ancestral knowledge between families.

Certification of Authentisity

All the artworks from redrock gallery are fully certificated.

This Paintings comes with:

- Photos of the artiest painting

- Certification of Authentisity

- Biography of Kathleen Petyarre

- Introduction of the Dreaming

- Introduction of the symbolism