Gracie Morton Pwerle
Artist’s Statement
"Bush Plum Dreaming & Bush Tomato"
Gracie Morton Pwerle paints representations of "Bush Plum" and "Bush Tomato Dreaming". Sometimes her intricate and layered dotwork detail the fruit which grows on low shrubs, the different colours of each piece indicating seasonal changes. Then she may add the walking tracks, which meander through the bush, that the women use on their trips to collect this favorite bush fruit. It is a group activity and the older women use this time to teach the children about country and culture.
Gracie also incorporates "Awelye" into her paintings. "Awelye" is the body-paint design significant to
ceremonies and rituals that are the basis of her culture. All Gracie's paintings are about culture, country, seasons and ceremony.
Biography
Born in 1956, Gracie is the daughter of traditional artist Myrtle Petyarre. She has always lived a traditional lifestyle at Utopia, spending her early years collecting bush foods and living off the land. She is a custodian of the land around Mosquito bore and the bush plum story. She spends time between Mosquito Bore with her husband and two children, Utopia and Alice Springs.
Gracie gained recognition as an artist working in the medium of batik, exhibiting her work with the Utopia women in Australia and overseas. Funded under government arts programs the Utopia Women travelled to the UK, Ireland, India and Europe before returning to Australia.
In 1988 along with other Utopia artists, Gracie made the transition from Batiks to canvas. The ease of application of a greater variety of colour attracted the artists working on Batik to acrylic on canvas. Her work initially depicted typical body-paint designs and the use of traditional symbols of the Utopia region. However, Gracie’s style has since evolved into brilliant images of laborious fine dots in intricate patterns, all associated with stories of her Dreamtimes. Her style is heavily influenced by the work of her Aunt, Kathleen Petyarre.
Collections
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Artbank, Sydney
Beher Collection, Germany
Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Slaughter & May International Law, London
Exhibitions
1999 Alliance Francaise de Canberra and French Embassy, Canberra
1999 My Country - Journey of our Ancestors, Ancient Earth Indigenous Art, Cairns
1999 Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs
1999 Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs
1998 Utopia und Balgo Hills, Aboriginal Art Galerie Baehr, Speyer, Germany
1998 Dreamings, Spazio Pitti Arte, Florence
1998 Culture Store, Art Gallery, Rotterdam
1996 Desert Mob, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
1994 Desert Mob, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
1993 Desert Mob, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
1992 Desert Mob, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
1991 8th National Aboriginal Art Awards, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1991 Desert Mob, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
1989-91 Utopia: A Picture Story, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
1989 - 91 The Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Ireland
1989 - 91 Meat Market Gallery, Melbourne
1989 Utopia Women's Paintings. The First Works on Canvas. A Summer Project, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1986 Desert Mob, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
1985 Desert Mob, Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs
Showing the single artwork
