Delvine Petyarre

Alhalkere,

Delvine Pitjara (Petyarre) b. 1982

LANGUAGE: ANMATYERRE
REGION: UTOPIA, N.T.

Delvine Pitjara (sometimes spelled Petyarre) grew up at Atneltye (Boundary Bore) in Utopia, an expansive Indigenous homelands region some 240km north-east of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Delvine is sister of acclaimed artist, Anna Pitjara, and youngest daughter of Glory Ngale (dec.), an esteemed artist and integral participant in the landmark Utopia Women's Batik Project in the late 1980s.

Delvine paints her country, Alhalkere, using a combination of intricate white dots and fine linework to capture the dry rivulets, creeks, sandhills, soakage sites and other features of the terrain from a topographic point of view. She takes great care in capturing the Dreamings of her father and grandather's country. Delvine paints in a monochrome or reduced palette, often creating salient features of dotted colour, giving her artworks an effortlessly contemporary aesthetic.

Utopia is an area that is abundant with the pencil yam, a beloved bush tucker that holds significant spiritual meaning. Delvine is also known to paint Pencil Yam and Yam Seed stories, using fine white lines to depict the sprawling roots of the plant.