Aboriginal Art Gallery | Paintings by aboriginal artists | Barbara Weir, Gloria Petyarre, Minnie and Galya Pwerle, Susan and Annie Pitjara Hunter

Medium:

My Mother’s Country

Barbara Weir was born in the region of Utopia at a place formally known as Bundy river Station.

Barbara's mother is the late artist  Minnie Pwerle,  who came from a region called Atnwengerrp, and it is this country that is depicted in her paintings.

The "Dreaming" that is the basis for Barbara's paintings come from the various ceremonies that are held by the women from Atnwengerrp .

In the background of the paintings, Barbara often depicts the abandoned campsites that people made as they trekked across the country in search of food or the coolamans used by the women to collect the fruit and berries. It may also show the form of a woman’s body that is adorned with paint for the women’s ceremonies. Small or large semi-circular shapes depict the hills and valleys of the land and winding trails are the rivers or streams dotted across the countryside. There may also be an outline of a person or slightly unusual shapes that convey the spirits the dwell in the variety of plant and animal life.

Overlaying these representations is a complex array of dotwork that depict the type of bush tucker found across the land. These include the Bush Yam, Potato, Berry, Plum , Banana and the ever-important Grass Seed that was vital to the people’s survival. This edible Grass Seed, from a particular type of grass, was collected by the people and then cleaned and ground into a paste to form a type of  ‘Bush Damper’. There may also be an area of dark colour that represents the path of a fire that has swept across the land and will generate new growth.