Experience the stories of three generations of women in a new Aboriginal art exhibition
Updated: 31 May 2021
Elise Anthony
Artitija Fine Art Gallery’s upcoming exhibition celebrates the art and stories of three generations of women living in two remote communities.
Minyma Wiru Tjuta (All the Lovely Ladies), features art from the Aboriginal-owned Ninuku Arts centre, a joyous creative hub at which artists gather almost daily to sit, tell stories and paint alongside family. The centre brings together artists from the remote communities of Kalka and Pipalyatjara located 15 km apart on the border of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory at the foot of the Tompkinson Ranges. It is there that the seven female artists (all the lovely ladies) came together to create their works over a six-month period.
The group is comprised of a combination of early to mid-range career artists through to 78-year-old renowned artist Monica Puntjina Watson. The three generations of women are constantly developing their own distinctive styles such as the fine intricate line and dot work by Judy Miller, shimmery geometric patterning by Phyllis Donegan, and Pauline Coombes’ technique which brings the canvas to life in her Bushfire story. Themes in the exhibition include the story for the community of Kalka which is a dream about the bilby woman and her two little boys, the important Minyma Kutjara or two sisters story, and the honey grevillia plant or kaliny-kalinypa depicted.
All the Lovely Ladies is a stylish and thought-provoking exhibition opening on Friday, June 4 and running to Sunday, June 27 at Earlywork, located at 330 South Terrace, South Fremantle.
Gallery opening hours are Wednesday to Sunday between 10am and 4pm, and entry is free.