Biography

Anna Petyarre (Pitjara) began painting in 1981 and comes from a well known artistic family. Her
mother was Glory Ngala and her Aunty was Emily Kame Kngwarreye.
Anna primarily paints Yam Seed Dreaming, her works are colourful and intricate expressions of the
songs and stories associated with her plant totem, the bush yam, and its seeds. The bush yam has
been a staple food and water source for the Anmatyerre people for countless years, and the seeds
that form and scatter from the plant are ground up to make flour for damper. During ceremony, it is
Anna's duty to pay homage to the yam seeds and give thanks for their abundance and regenerative
qualities. By painting to the tempo of a ceremonial song, Anna expresses her connection to her plant
totem in a permanent medium. The contours of the landscapes shaped by water courses are a
feature in her paintings.
Her work is becoming more collectable as she develops her craft and cements her reputation as one
of Utopia's rising talents. She has a dynamic style, changing several times in the last two decades to
her current fine representation of her story.