Minnie Pwerle

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M. passed away on 18 March 2006. In accordance with Aboriginal Australian practices concerning respect for the dead, and out of respect for her family, she is referred to only as M. Pwerle for the time being in this article. This practice usually lasts at least 12 months.

M. Pwerle (pronounced Pearl) (born c. 1910, at Utopia Station, was an Australian Aboriginal artist. Her country was Atnwengerrp, (pronounced a-NOONG-a-pa), and her languages Anmatyerre and Alyawarr, languages from an area of Central Australia 250 km northeast of Alice Springs.

M. is often compared to Emily Kame Kngwarreye. They both became prolific and highly praised artists who came to Western-style art late in life. M. began painting in 1999 when she was in her late eighties and continued to paint up until her death in March 2006.

M. painted of the Awelye Atnwengerrp Dreamings (Women's Dreaming}. Her distinctive style used linear brush-work based on the body painting used for important women’s ceremonies in her native country of Atnwengerrp. She painted with a rich array of colours and her work contained a compelling visual and spiritual power.

All the stories she painted conveyed her deep connection with the land, and knowledge of the foods that it provides. Besides Women's Dreaming, M. painted other Dreamings involving the bush melon, and bush melon seed, types of bush tucker traditionally used by her people, once very common, and becoming increasingly rarer.

M. and the other women used to collect this fruit (that was green in colour and then ripened to a brown colour) and scrape out the small black seeds. They would then eat the fruit straight away or cut it into pieces and skewer them onto a piece of wood and dry them to be eaten in the coming months when bush tucker was scarce.

M.’s ability to capture her love of the land was evident in all her works. She exhibited extensively throughout Australia and the world with great success.

One of M.’s pieces was entered into the 18th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2001. Today, M.'s paintings sell for very high prices.

[edit] Exhibitions

2000 M. Pwerle Sydney, Melbourne & Alice Springs
2000 DACOU in association with AMP, AMP building, Sydney.
2000 Gallery Savah , Sydney
2001 Out of Utopia, Canberra
2001 San Anselmo, Marin County California, USA.
2001 Small Stories Perth WA.
2001 Desert Colour - My Country, Darwin, Northern Territory
Painting Country, Tandanya, Adelaide
2001 Santa Fe, New Mexico USA.
2001 Women Artists of the Australian Desert, Auckland, New Zealand
2002 Solo Exhibition Gallery Savah , Sydney
2002 United - Mother and Daughter", Alison Kelly Gallery, Victoria
2002 New York City, UTSA
2003 M. Pwerle: Original & Authentic Aboriginal Art, Melbourne
2003 Alice Springs.
2003 M. Pwerle & Mitjili Napurrula Japingka Gallery, www.japingka.com.au Fremantle
2003 Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
2003 Art from the Dreamtime, Portland Art Museum
2004 Diva's of the Desert, Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs
2005 Utopia Revealed Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
2006 Solo Exhibition Gallery Savah , Sydney