Emily Pwerle

Emily Pwerle, sister to the famous & widely admired Utopian artist Minnie Pwerle, was present at her first solo exhibition titled ‘Body Markings’ at Dacou Gallery Melbourne, Middle Park.

Emily, when only in her early 80s, began painting in 2004 after being encouraged by her older sister, Minnie. Emily instantly took to painting on canvas, applying many layers of acrylic paint in linear brush strokes, creating dense patterns of colour which represent the body paint women apply to each other during traditional bush tucker ceremonies. To the women these works are spiritually relevant, paying homage to their ancestors and the land that provides them with life. To the general viewer, the work is a mass of moving colour, carefully orchestrated to guide the eye across areas of dense abstract beauty on the canvas.

Since 2004, Emily’s work has been exhibited & represented in several fine art galleries across Australia, as well as in New York, London, Paris & Seoul. This was her very first, although well overdue, solo exhibition. Over 15 impressive paintings recently completed by Emily are exhibited, along with some of the finest of her earlier works.

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