Greeny Purvis Petyarre

Greeny Purvis Petyarre was born in approximately the 1940’s and comes from the Utopia region in Central Australia. His traditional country is Atneltyeye and grew up at Boundary Bore near Utopia. He is the son of Allugra Jack. His mother is also the mother of Lyndsay Bird Mpetyane another fine Utopian artist. His mother was blood sisters with the famous Emily Kame Kngwarreye, the most collectable and famous aboriginal artist. He is also cousins with the famous Petyarre sisters including Kathleen and Gloria Petyarre. His siblings include Evelyn Pultara (full sister) and Jeannie, Rosemary and Dolly Petyarre who are his half sisters. Needless to say, Greeny’s family both blood and skin is full of talented and well known artists.

Greeny is from the Eastern Anmatyerre language group and through his traditional country of Atneltyeye he is responsible for the custodianship of the Emu, Turkey, Yam and Kangaroo Dreamings. Prior to his death in May 2010 he was a highly respected ceremonial and tribal leader in his community.

Greeny’s artworks appear quite modern with sparse use of traditional iconography and design however are imbued with traditional meaning and understanding of his country. He began working as an artist in the early 1980’s prior to the “Summer Project” held at Utopia by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). His “Yam” paintings depict the root systems of bush tucker whilst his aunt, Emily Kame Kngwarreye would paint the wild flowers that can flourish after the rain fall from this same plant. What is interesting is that the story Emily would base her Dreamings and artworks on actually belongs to Greeny. The Dreaming was shared amongst the family because this is the land where they were both born and responsible for. As Greeny was the eldest man in this area he gave permission to Emily to depict the Dreaming.

In his artworks Greeny would often use thick straight lines to depict the root system of the Bush Yam, he would place colourful dots to represent the wild flowers which could be found after the rain fall. His use of vibrant colours reflected his love and appreciation of the land and as a result of this his artworks are quick easily identifiable. In these linear artworks Greeny would typically only use one layer of paint and would very rarely go back over a line he has already painted, because of this at times his paintings differ in texture.

Greeny Purvis Petyarre has been considered as the most successful male artist with his artworks highly sought after by collectors and galleries throughout the world, particularly his Yam Seed Dreamings. He participated in numerous important group exhibitions and held two solo exhibitions throughout his career. In 1984 and 2004, his artworks were represented in the most prestigious art award in Australia the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. In 1996 one of his Plum Root Dreaming artworks was purchased by the Art Gallery of South Australia and now adorns its walls.

Greeny is survived by his wife Kathleen and their four daughters, all of who have carried on his love of art and have become artists themselves. I (Sabine Haider, Director Central Art) was extremely privileged to have known Greeny and to have worked with him. Central Art has one of his most collectable paintings available for purchase. This particular piece is 2 metres long and uses a linear pattern to symbolise the roots of the Pencil Yam plant. The dots represent the pea flowers of the plant. The Pencil Yam is a native Australian plant found in Central Australia and traditionally was used as a staple food source for Aboriginal people; it is still collected and eaten today. For the people of Utopia it is a significant Dreaming which has many rituals and ceremonies associated with it.

I can imagine this beautiful artwork hanging on a large wall captivating audiences; it is certainly a worthy focal point for any home, board room or foyer.

Central Art has removed Greeny’s picture to pay respect to him, his family, community and culture. Traditionally when an Aboriginal person passes away their name is no longer mentioned, unfortunately given the difficulty in sharing Greeny’s artworks we have to continue to use his name, but recognise the significant and important cultural traditions and do so respectfully.