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Biography:
Katie Kemarre
Collections:
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide
National Gallery of Australia
(Canberra)
National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne)
Mbantua Museum Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs
Homes
a Court Gallery and gallery Collection
Art Gallery of Western Australia (Perth)
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
Museum of Victoria (Melbourne)
Katie Kemarre Profile
Katie participated in the Utopia A
Picture Story Exhibition, silk batik by 88 Utopian artists, which toured
internationally. Other involvements are the Summer Project, painting
from Utopia in 1988-89. Katie has also been involved in wood figures
carvings.
Born 1943,
Language Alyawarr
Country: Antarrengeny, Utopia Region, N E of Alice Springs
Medium: Silk Batik, Acrylic on Canvas, Sculpture
Subject(s): Antarrengeny Country, Camp Scenes, Apeng (Kurrajong)
Dreaming, Awely (Women’s Ceremony and body paint designs)
Skin Name: Kemarre (pronounced Ke-mah-ra, also spelled Akemarr)
Language Group: Alyawarr
EXHIBITIONS
1989 Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works On Canvas, A Summer
Project, 1988-89, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1990 Utopia- A Picture Story, an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the
Robert Holmes a Court Collection by Utopian Artists which toured Eire
and Scotland.
1991 The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art
Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1991 Aboriginal Women’s Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales,
Sydney
1993 The Tenth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art
Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1994 Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 2002 Group
Exhibition, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs NT
2002 Mbantua Gallery - Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A
2002 Mbantua Gallery - 'The Cove Gallery' Portland, Oregon U.S.A
(Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)
2002 Mbantua Gallery - Urban Wine Works, Portland, Oregon U.S.A (Benefit
– OHSU Heart Research Centre)
2002 Mbantua Gallery - Mary's Woods, Portland, Oregon U.S.A (Benefit –
OHSU Heart Research Centre)
2003 Mbantua Gallery - New City Merchants, Knoxville, Tennessee U.S.A
2003 Mbantua Gallery - Art and Soul Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee U.S.A
2003 Mbantua Gallery - 'The Cove Gallery' Portland, Oregon U.S.A
(Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)
2003 Mbantua Gallery - Contemporary Aboriginal Art Event, Umpqua Bank,
Portland, Oregon U.S.A (Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)
2003 Mbantua Gallery - Mary's Woods, Portland Oregon U.S.A (Benefit -
OHSU Heart Research Centre)
2003 Mbantua Gallery - Art From The Dreamtime, Portland Art Museum,
Portland Oregon U.S.A (Benefit - OHSU Heart Research Centre)
Feb 2004 ‘Last of the 20th Century’, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs
Aug-Sep 2004 Mbantua Gallery USA exhibition; Portland, Nashville,
Knoxville, Greenwich and New York
Bibliography:
Brody, A, 1989, Utopia Women’s Paintings: the First Work on Canvas, A
Summer Project 1988-89., cat., Heytesbury Holdings, Perth Brody, A.,
1990, Utopia: a Picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a
Court Collection, Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth; 1993, Aratjara, Art of
the First Australians: Traditional and Contemporary Works by Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Artists, exhib. Cat. (conceived and designed
by Bernard Luthi in collaboration with Gary Lee), Dumont, Buchverlag,
Koln. Neatle, M., 1994, Yiribana, exhib.cat., Art Gallery of New South
Wales, Sydney 1991, Aboriiginal Women’s Exhibition, exhib. Cat. Art
Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
NATSIVAD Data Base
Collections:
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide
National Gallery
of Australia (Canberra)
National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne)
Mbantua Museum Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs
Homes
a Court Gallery and gallery Collection
Art Gallery of Western Australia (Perth)
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
Museum of
Victoria (Melbourne)
Source
& FURTHER REFERENCES:
"Aboriginal
Artists of the Western Desert - A Biographical Dictionary" by Vivien
Johnson, published by Craftsman House 1994,
"The
Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture"
edited by Sylvia Kleinert and Margo Neale published by OUP 2000,
“Australian
Aboriginal Artist Encyclopedia”
– dictionary of biographies”
Kreczmanski, Janusz B & Birnberg, Margo (eds.): Aboriginal Artists:
Dictionary of Biographies: Central Desert, Western Desert & Kimberley
Region (JB Publishing Australia, Marleston, 2004).
Brody, A. 1989 Utopia women’s Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A
summer Project, 1988-89 exhib. Cat. Heytesbury Holdings, Perth
Brody, A. 1990 Utopia, a picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the
Robert
Homes
a Court Gallery and gallery Collection,
Heytesbury Holdings LTD Perth NATSIVAD database.
Kurrajong Seed
MB034248, MB034249
Katie paints the
story of amern ngkweyang, the seed of the apeng (desert kurrajong) tree.
Armen in Katie’s language means food and Ngkweyang is the aping seed.
There is an ancient Dreamtime story belonging to the ngkweyang witch lies
in the heart of Alyawarr land Katie’s country, Antarrengeny north east of
Alice Spring. Ngkweyang is an important and nutritious food source. Not a
habitual practice now, the Aboriginal people would collect these seeds,
burn them to remove small hairs, and grind them into a paste for making
damper (bread).
The green designs in this painting are inspired by the
leaf of the aping plant. The background designs represent Katie’s country,
Antarrengeny
Women's Ceremony
MB031682
The linear designs in Katie’s
painting represent awely (women’s ceremony and body paint designs). These
designs are painted onto the chest, breasts, arms and thighs. Powders
ground from red and yellow ochre (clays), charcoal and ash are used as
body paint and applied with a flat stick with soft padding. This stick is
called “typale”. The women sing the songs associated with their awely as
each woman takes her turn to be “painted-up”. Women perform awely
ceremonies to demonstrate respect for their country and the total
well-being and health of their community.
Country Story
All of Katie’s
Dreamtime stories belong to her country, Antarrengeny in the Utopia
Region of Central Australia.
Katie has painted a variety of designs
that represent all of her Dreamtime stories. The stories that are
featured in this painting include amern ngkweyang, the seed of the apeng
(desert kurrajong) tree. Armen in Katie’s language means food and
Ngkweyang is the aping seed. Nghweyang is an important and nutritious
food source. Not a habitual practice now, the Aboriginal people would
collect these seeds, burn them to remove small hairs, and grind them into a paste for making
damper (bread).
Katie participated in the Utopia A Picture Story Exhibition, silk batik
by 88 Utopian artists, which toured internationally. Other involvements
are the Summer Project, painting from Utopia in 1988-89 and many group
exhibitions within Australian and America through the 90's and 00's.
Katie has also been involved in wood figure carvings.
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