"My Country" by Bernadine Johnson

SIZE: 97 X 94 CM

Title: Women's Ceremony

Year: 2023

MEDIUM: ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

FREE 

COMMISSION WORK AVAILABLE

Bernadine Kemarre is a rising star in the world of contemporary aboriginal art. She was born in 1974 in the Ltyentye Apurte Community (Santa Teresa), approx. 80km east of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and had a traditional upbringing before attending school in Alice Springs.

Bernadine comes from a family of famous artists including Abie Loy and Josie Petrick Kemarre that have emerged from the Utopia area in the NT. Her sister-in-law is Anna Price Petyarre, one of the most sought-after Central Desert artists. She learned from a young age the art of painting her dreamings, ceremonies, and important bush foods onto canvas.

Berandine currently lives with her husband Steven and their children in Napperby

ARTWORK STORY

The Story: Women’s bush life is one of travelling across their country, collecting bush medicines and foods, performing sacred Inma dancing, and looking after waterholes. This painting is an aerial interpretation of the landscape around Santa Teresa, east of Alice Springs where Bernadine was born.