In this painting, which represents the movement of leaves blowing in the wind, Gloria captures the essence of her traditional country and associated Bush Medicine Dreaming which is celebrated in ceremonies. In preparation for the ceremony the women paint their bodies with special markings for that particular ceremony.

The painting depicts leaves of a special plant referred to as a bush medicine tree. The leaves are boiled to extract resin. Kangaroo or emu fat is added and mixed into a paste which can be stored for a long time in bush conditions. The medicine is used to heal cuts, wounds, bites, rashes and also acts as an insect repellent.

Whilst Gloria's paintings are derived from her cultural traditions and stories of country, her work is contemporary and individualistic. She is well known for the creation of optical illusion through dynamic movement and colour.
 

The Aboriginal artist Gloria Petyarre was born in c. 1945 on Aboriginal land in Utopia, about 300 km’s north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. Her language is Anmatyerre and she paints Women’s Ceremonial Designs (Awelye), the Thorny Devil Lizard Dreaming (Arnkerrthe), Bean (Atnwerle), Emu (Ankerre), Pencil Yam (Arlartveye) and Grass Seed (Ntange)

Gloria is the niece of the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye, the most significant contemporary Australian Aboriginal artist  and one of seven sisters, who are also artists. One of those sisters is Kathleen Petyarre, an internationally renowned artist as well.

Gloria Petyarre was one of the original painters who participated in the successful 1977 Utopia Women’s Batik program. In 1989, following the success of this program, Gloria Petyarre and other women artists participated in CAAMA’s “A Summer Project” using acrylic paint on canvas for the first time.

Gloria Petyarre held her first solo exhibition in 1991. Her paintings can be found in almost every major art gallery in Australia and in numerous private collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, The Robert Holmes a Court Collection, the Museum of Victoria, the Powerhouse Museum, Westpac New York and many others.

In 1999 Gloria was awarded the Wynne Prize from the Art Gallery of NSW, being the first indigenous artist to receive this prestigious art prize and again in 2006 she was Finalist in the same prize.

^©Boomerang Art 2010