Jeannie Petyarre
About JeannieJeannie Petyarre (Pitjara) was born in c.1956 on the Boundary Bore Outstation of Utopia in Central Australia. An established artist in Utopia, Jeannie is the niece of the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye. In the early 1980s, when Jeannie was living at Boundary Bore Outstation with her family, husband Henry Long Kemarre, and their six children, Jeannie was introduced to the art of Batik. Jeannie was encouraged by her aunt, Emily Kngwarreye to continue to paint her family's Yam Dreaming. In 1990, her work was chosen to be part of the Robert Holmes à Court Collection, which toured extensively and was featured in their book "Utopia - A Picture Story". All of Jeannie's Dreamtime stories come from the Alhalkere Country and are passed down to her from her father's side.Jeannie paints the Yam Seed, Yam Leaf, Yam Flower Dreamings, body paint, Mountain Devil Lizard, and My Country Dreamings. Jeannie's tribal name is "Angiltha" which means little lizard.About the artwork
The Yam story is well represented further south on the Utopia Homelands of Central Australia, where the artists show the ceremonial links of the Anmatyerre people to the Yam as a source of sustenance in the desert. Artists like Emily Kngwarreye, Galya Pwerle, Gloria Petyarre, Jeannie Mills Pwerle and Rosemary Petyarre have established their own styles of paintings of the Yam and the women’s ceremonies associated with Yam Dreaming. Their depictions of the Yam Seed and Yam Flower are aspects of interest in the fertility of the Yam plant, and the paintings serve as ceremonies do also, to celebrate and promote the abundance of the Yam.HistoryJeannie has participated in various group exhibitions around Australia and several exhibitions toured the USA, United Arab Emirates, France, Italy, Turkey, and China. Some of her paintings are held in well-known and highly regarded collections such as the Holmes à Court Collection and the National Gallery of Australia. Collections
Selected Group Exhibitions
