Awelye (Body Paint)by Ada Bird Petyarre

Ada Bird Petyarre was an amazing woman. I (Sabine Haider, Director of Central Art) will always owe a lot to Ada, as without her Central Art would never have been, for in fact it was Ada Bird who came to me and encouraged me to set up Central Art. I was working in Alice Springs and had known Ada for some time, when she heard that my son was sick she came to me very concerned. I needed to be a home to care for my son and Ada encouraged me to fulfil my dream of selling Aboriginal Art online. I was already working in the field however it was a big step. The first painting I purchased with my new business was an Ada Bird Petyarre. I will be forever grateful to Ada for her encouragement and support during that time. She was an outspoken, vibrant woman who always said what she felt. I was deeply saddened to hear of her passing in 2010.  Ada’s artworks were at the forefront of the contemporary art movement in Central Australia. She comes from an extremely talented family and her paintings are considered as investment pieces, depicting ancient cultural activities.

Ada was born on the Old Utopia Station at Atangkere in approximately 1930. She comes from a large family having six sisters; Kathleen, Gloria, Myrtle, Violet, Nancy and Jean. All of these wonderful ladies are talented artists and I have had the pleasure of many visits and chats with them about their artworks and culture. Ada also had six children of her own, two girls and four boys.  Ada was a senior traditional Anmatyerre elder, and she took her cultural obligations very seriously and this is seen in her artworks which depict her Dreamings and the women’s ceremonies associated with them.

In the 1970’s Ada was a founding member of the Utopia Women’s Batik Group (painting on silk) and was exhibited extensively. A CAAMA (Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association) community project was carried out in 1988 titled “Utopia – A Picture Story”, and was a collection of silk Batiks. The collection was later acquired by The Holmes a Court Collection. This project brought extensive recognition to the women of Utopia, not only Ada but her sisters and the famous Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

Through 1988 -1989 CAAMA carried out a similar project titled “A Summer Project” although this time the women completed artworks painted on canvas with acrylic. From that time Ada painted exclusively with canvas and acrylics. Ada’s style was unique, reflecting her vibrant personality and close connection to her country and culture. Her works were quite raw, preferring bold bright linear patterns over finer details which were not traditional for her. Ada’s works often incorporated breasts relating to women’s ceremonies and the body painting that occurred during these cultural activities. The artwork depictions relate to the Dreaming stories that Ada was a custodian for including the following Dreamings; Angertla, Engacarma, Unyara, Annlara, Kadjeta and Elaitchurunga Dreamings. Ada shared these Dreamings with her sisters and Emily Kame Kngwarreye all originating from the Utopia region.

In 1989 The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra acquired a major canvas of Ada’s, and the addition of her works can be found in public and private collections as a result from this. Ada spent the majority of her time at Mulga Bore (Akaye Soakage) in the Utopia region, visiting Alice Springs and attending her exhibitions.  In 2004 she suffered a stroke and ceased painting thereafter. She spent her time being cared for in Alice Springs with her large family travelling in to Alice Springs to visit with her until her passing on the 25th of June 2010. The Aboriginal art world will never forget her loving smile, cheeky personality, kindness and I will also never forget this special woman.

Out of respect of Aboriginal culture and Ada’s family Central Art has removed her photograph. Naming Aboriginal people who have passed away was traditionally forbidden. Traditionally you are required to avoid referring to the deceased directly by name as a sign of respect. This has also come to include photographs, filming and voice recordings as technology has grown. Central Art acknowledges that we have named Ada on our website however it is linguistically difficulty to promote her works without naming her.

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