Artist

Charmaine Pwerle was born in 1975 in Alice Springs, NT and her language is Anmatyerre. With the famous Minnie Pwerle as grandmother, and the equally talented Barbara Weir for her mother, it is not surprising that Charmaine Pwerle is bursting with artistic talent. Learn more about Charmaine here.

Artwork Information

This print was produced in

This piece was painted in 2020 and is 250cm x 200cm in size. This artwork is currently stretched. This artwork is apart of the Tandanya 30th year anniversary exhibition in collaboration with Pwerle Gallery called ‘Atnwengerrp – Our Apmere, Our Place’. It will be provided with a certificate of authenticity by Pwerle Gallery which will also be stamp certified by Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute.

Dreaming

In Aboriginal culture, ceremonies are focal

Charmaine Pwerle’s artwork represents when the Women paint each other’s breasts and upper bodies with ochre markings, before dancing in a ceremony. The body designs are important and, painted on chest and shoulders, they relate to each particular woman’s dreaming. The ochre pigment is ground into powder form and mixed with charcoal and ash before being applied with a flat padded stick or with fingers in raw linear and curving patterns. The circles in these designs represent the sites and movement where the ceremonies take place.

The lines in the painting depict the tracks that her people made as they trekked across the country in search of food and dry river beds. The large semi circular shapes represent the sandhills and valleys. The dark colour represents the path of a fire that has swept across the land.

The dot work on the top layer represent the different unseen sacred sites and tracks that re created during ceremonies and traveling around the country too scared camp sites.

Medium

All the artwork provided is done on with highest quality linen canvas, acrylic paints, oils and brushes ensuring the longevity of each piece of work.