Freda Price Pitjara
About Freda
Freda Price Petyarre is a young woman who is making her mark on the art world. Born in 1984 in Utopia, NT, she comes from one of the most famous painting families in Australia. Her mother is prominent senior Utopian artist Anna Price Petyarre. Encouraged by her mother and other family members, Freda is now producing excellent and consistent works.Her style is similar to that of her mother Anna with intricate dot work telling the story of her country.She is related by marriage to Emily Kame Kngwarreye (her grandfather was Michael Kngwarreye) and her Grandmother is the late Gloria (Glory) Ngale. Gloria was known for her eye for colour, a legacy of her Batik work, which she passed down to her daughters and granddaughters.Freda and her husband have five children and continue to live in her homelands of Utopia, NT.
About the artwork
Freda’s artwork depicts from a topographical view in fine detail associated with her family homelands of Utopia in Central Australia. The illustration is important visually and spiritually of the country – sandhills, river beds, and significant landmarks for ceremonies. The leaves, flowers, bark, or seeds of certain plants are harvested in season or as needed. This is often done in groups so that knowledge is passed down from older to younger women. Ceremonial sites are where the women gather for girls’ initiation and other cultural Law matters. The women sit around the waterholes, often depicted in the artwork, with the waterholes being full in the dry desert land. Due to this, there was plenty of bush tucker around for the women to eat during the sometimes very long period of time they camped out for Women’s Business.
