D.O.B: 1964
LANGUAGE GROUP: Alyawarre
COMMUNITY: Utopia, NT

Born on MacDonald Downs in 1964 to Johnny Ngwarrai Hunter and Molly Pwerle Hunter (sister of Minnie Pwerle), Annie now lives with her sisters at Irrultja, a small community of 100 people in Utopia. Annie Petyarre Hunter, is the sister to artists Susan, Jessie, Christopher and Sandy Petyarre Hunter.

Her country is Arawerre in Utopia and her language group is Alyawarre. Her Dreamings are Arawerre Country, Sugar Bag (for honey from bees in a tree hive), Women’s Ceremony, Women’s Cave Dreaming and Caterpillar.

Annie is becoming well known for the fine dot execution of her interpretation of Women’s Business. Like her sisters, Annie is primarily concerned with Awelye (Body Paint) and all it symbolises during the deeply spiritual women’s ceremonies. Annie also paints Bush Tucker and Cave Dreaming in the fine dot genre. Over the last few years Annie has participated in several group exhibitions throughout Australia.

Annie became involved in the Utopia Women’s Batik Group in the late 1980s and one of her batiks was selected for Utopia- A Picture Story, an historic art project and exhibition where the artists portrayed their ancestral stories on silk. These batiks were acquired for the Holmes à Court Collection and the exhibition toured extensively nationally and overseas. The documenting catalogue and reference book, Utopia: A Picture Story: 88 Silks from the Robert Holmes à Court Collection, is an important publication on Utopian artists and their cultural ancestry.

Annie’s paintings were also featured in the significant exhibition Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project (1988-89). Annie Petyarre Hunter’s work is represented in The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney and in the Janet Holmes à Court collection in Perth.

Copyright to this biography belongs to Pwerle Gallery.

 

EXHIBITIONS:

2020     Pwerle Gallery x Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute  ‘Atnwengerrp – Our Apmere, Our Place’ in celebration of Tandanya’s 30th year anniversary, Adelaide.

2018 Mercedes Me x Pwerle Gallery Art Exhibition at Mercedes Me Melbourne.

2018 Pwerle Gallery ‘Utopia exhibition of four generations’, Adelaide.

2014 Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne.

2013 Aboriginal Artists UK Show, London

2012 Utopia: Connecting Land + Country, Group exhibition Metropolis Gallery, Geelong VIC.

2012 Group exhibition, Utopia Artists, DACOU Melbourne, Melbourne.

2011 Group exhibition, Emerging Artists from Utopia, Dacou Melbourne, Melbourne VIC.

2010 Group exhibition, Emerging Artists from Utopia, Dacou Melbourne, Middle Park VIC.

2009 Group exhibition, Emerging Artists from Utopia, Dacou Melbourne, Middle Park VIC.

2009 Group exhibition, Minnie Pwerle – Body Paint, Dacou Melbourne, Middle Park.

2008 Utopia Discoveries Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne.

2008 EWB Elements traveling group exhibition to major cities in Australia.

2006-8 Permanent Collection, Dacou Gallery Adelaide.

2007 Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay, Sydney.

2007 Standing on Ceremony, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide.

2007 Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane.

2006 Utopia, Flinders Lane Gallery. Melbourne, VIC.

1990 Utopia – A Picture Story, an exhibition of 88 silk batiks from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists toured Ireland & Scotland.

1989 Utopia Women’s Paintings -the First Works on Canvas – A Summer Project, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.

1989 A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, Westpac Gallery, Melbourne Design Warehouse. Sydney.

1989 Alcoota, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne. VIC.

COLLECTIONS:

Art Gallery of New South Wales
Janet Holmes à Court Collection, Perth
 
 

See below some of her beautiful pieces for sale: