Bush Plumby Glady Kemarre

Glady Kemarre was one of the first artists that Central Art began representing when it was founded by me (Sabine Haider, Director Central Art) in 2003. When I look at Glady’s artworks and I immediate feel the warmth radiating from them, it reminds me of friendship. Glady is such a gentle person with a beautiful smile and her paintings are simple yet stunning. In our gallery we have an amazing 4 metre long painting that she created in 2003, it has hues of vibrant orange and I can just picture it hanging in the foyer of a corporate building one day.Glady (Gladys) Kemarre was born on Mount Swan Station in approximately 1950. She is originally from Harts Range (Atitjere) however has been living in the Utopia Region for much of her life. Glady participated in the summer project “Utopia Women’s Painting” in the late 1980’s, it was here like many of her kin such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye that the women were introduced to art depiction using modern mediums. The women experimented with designing silk batiks with traditional iconography and stories. This project became an extraordinary success with the entire collection of 88 silk batiks being acquired by the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, what followed where also exhibitions in Australia and overseas. Her first silk paintings depicted birds eating bush tomatoes with the women hunting with dingos whilst the other women would also hunt or wait in shelters. She used patterns based on Awelye (women’s body paint designs) from Ahalpere country. It wasn’t until she tried acrylics and canvas that she began to experiment more freely. The following year, CAAMA held another summer project titled “First Works on Canvas”, where the women began to use acrylic paints on canvas. This project was also enthusiastically received and the first body of paintings was exhibited by SH Ervin Gallery in Sydney. Glady like many others found this medium liberating and still continues to paint like this today. Glady is mostly known for her fine dotting technique and her primary Dreaming is Anwekety or Bush Plum. In her artworks she depicts the ripening stage of the bush plum. The plant produces white flowers and berries, which when ripe, the fruits are edible and have a sweet taste. Anwekety was a staple food source for Aboriginal people and are still collected today. The berries also feed a variety of wildlife including Emu’s, Bush Turkey and other native bird species. Glady’s artworks provide a topographical view of the landscape around Ahalpere, her native country, in the Utopia region in Central Australia. As part of Glady’s Dreaming the women perform Awelye ceremonies to pay homage to the spirit of the Bush Plum to ensure further germinations in years to come. Women’s ceremonies are extremely important and the women will often dance and sing to the ancestors. Over the years Glady has been part of multiple exhibitions around Australia and overseas including, India, Germany, Korea, and throughout Europe. Her artworks are also held by some prestigious art collections around Australia. Glady lives at Camel Camp Outstation in the Utopia region, where she resides with her close relatives and fellow Utopian artists, the Ngale sisters - Kathleen, Polly and Angeline. They can often be found socialising and painting together. Glady is a sweet lady and is always a joy to chat with on her shopping trips to Alice Springs and when she has time to stop in to Central Art.

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