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Janice Clarke Kngwarreye

Born:                           1958

Region:                        Central Desert

Community Centre:     Utopia, Ngkwarlerlaneme,

Outstation or Country: Ngkwarlerlaneme

Language Bloc:            Arandic

Language:                    Alyawarr

Social Affiliations:      Kngwarreye subsection

Medium/ Form:          Acrylic paint on Mulga wood, batik on silk

Subjects and Themes: Bush flowers, rainbow, witchetty grub, edible snake, wild fig, Ngkwarlerlaneme country

Janice comes from a strong family of artists working in painting, carving and batik. Her husband Wally Clarke Pwerle is also a respected painter and carver. Janice participated in batik workshops that were held in Utopia from 1977 to 1987. Janice Kngwarreye Morton is the youngest daughter of Utopian artists Mary Kemarre and Billy (Stockman) Pitjarra Morton. As part of the Alyawarr tribe she now lives at Rocket Range, on Utopia Station, with her sisters and extended family. Together with her mother and sisters, she was involved in the important Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) batik-making community projects which resulted in Utopia – A Picture Story, 88 silk batiks from the Holmes a Court which toured throughout Australia. Her first foray into painting with acrylic on canvas began when CAAMA initiated Utopia Women’s Paintings the first works on canvas – A Summer Project. Janice has been painting and making wood sculptures since early 1980s. Her work is usually extremely refined with intricate dot and brush work. She paints detailed studies of bush flowers, camp stories and designs associated with the stories from her country.

Janice Clarke Kngwarreye's Artworks