Collection: Jeannie Petyarre

DOB: 1956-2022
Skin Name: (Pitjara)
Tribal Group: Anmatyerre
Community: Utopia, N.T.

Jeannie was born in 1956 to a family of well-known artists. She is the sister of the renown Gloria Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre, Ada Bird Petyarre, Violet Petyarre, Myrtle Petyarre and Nancy Petyarre. Jeannie started painting batik work in the eighties. She paints leaves like her sister Gloria Petyarre, but also Bush Medicine Dreaming, Bush Peanut Dreaming, Mountain Devil Lizard (arnkerrthe) Dreaming, Yam Seed Dreaming. Jeannie, like her sister, is known for the use of vibrant colours.

Jeannie paints bush tucker stories, such as her ‘Bush Yam Dreaming’ and ‘Bush Medicine’ stories. Her work is characterised by vibrant designs celebrating the spirit of the yam plant as it generates year after year to feed the people. ‘Bush Medicine’ relates to the process of mixing various fruits and plants with animal fat to create medicine. These colourful styles were taught to her by her Aunt, the famous Emily Kame Kngwarreye, who told Jeannie before she died that she must continue to paint the family’s dreamings.

An established artist in Utopia, Jeannie is the niece to the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

In the early 1980’s, 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 a Court Collection, which toured extensively and was featured in their book “Utopia – A Picture Story”.

Jeannie Petyarre passed away in December 2022 in Alice Springs, surrounded by her family. She will always remain part of the Corroboree”s family.

Exhibitions:
2006 Cicada Trading, Paris, France
2006 Cicada Trading, Bahrain Art Society, the Kingdom of Bahrain
2006 Cicada Trading, Annual Clear Lake Exhibition of Aboriginal Paintings, Houston, USA
2006 Cicada Trading, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2006 Cicada Trading , Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2005 Cicada Trading, Milan, Italy
2005 Cicada Trading, Illayda, Istanbul, Turkey
1993 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs.
1990 A Picture Story exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopian artists which toured Eire and Scotland
1989 Utopia Women’s Paintings the first works on canvas