Body Paint

Ada Bird Petyarre

$5,500.00

Famed Ada Bird Petyarre, was known for her bright, bold linear patterns often incorporating breasts, indicating women’s ceremonial body paint designs associated with the Arnkerrthe (Mountain Devil Lizard) Dreaming for Atnangkere and Ahalkere Country. This Dreaming story was the most significant for Ada along with her sisters, Kathleen, Gloria, Myrtle, Violet, Nancy and Jean Petyarre (also known as the Seven Petyarre Sisters).

Ada was involved in the art movement of Utopia since its inception. She began with the Utopia Women’s Batik Group in the late 1970’s where her work was exhibited extensively and featured on the cover of the Utopia – A Picture Story publication by A. Brody (Heytesbury Holdings, Perth, 1990). In 1988 Ada subsequently began painting with acrylics during CAAMA’s Summer Project and continued in this medium until suffering a stroke 2004.

Ada’s work is represented in many major and private collections all over the world.