Audrey Kngwarrey Morton

About

Skin: Kngwarrey (also known as Ngwarai)

Language Group: Alyawarr

Region: Rocket Range, Utopia, NT

Dreaming: Awely (Body Paint), Yerramp (Honey Ant), Rainbow (Mpwelarr), Sweet Honey Grevillea (Tharrkarr), Wild Flower Seeds

 

Audrey's Story

Born in June 1954 to Billy (Stockman) Pitjara Morton and Mary Kemarre, Audrey together with her sisters began her artistic career with her introduction into batik making. She participated in the Utopia A Picture Story a collection of 88 silk batiks (Holmes á Court Collection), which confirmed the artistic credibility of the Utopian Artists.

Audrey has featured in several group exhibitions since 1977 for her work in batik (during the 1980's) and continuously through Australia and America for her work in acrylics. She has featured in several group exhibitions since 1977 throughout Australia and America. 

Audrey paints many subjects including Sweet Honey Grevillea (Tharrkarr), Alpeyt (Acacia flowers) and Awely body designs from Antarrengeny which is her mother's country. 

Rainbow (Mpwelarr) Dreaming: Rainbow Dreaming is associated with ceremonies ensuring the fertility of species is capable on the one hand of bringing much needed water but also of causing wild and violent storms. The Rainbow Spirit comes to life in the form of a rainbow at the end of the storm. In her paintings, Audrey Kngwarreye Morton depicts the colourful patterns of the body of the Spirit. 

Honey Ant (Yerramp) Dreaming: The Honey Ant is considered a delicacy by the Utopian women. The women search the country for the nests of honey ants and then dig holes to extract them. They collect the ants in their coolamons. In her paintings Audrey Morton depicts the various nests of the honey ants.

 

Collections

  • Museum of Victoria, Melbourne.

  • Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.

  • The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

  • The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth.

  • Mbantua Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs

 

Exhibitions

  • 1985 - The Second National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

  • 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 Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland.

  • 1990 - Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Harvard University, University of Minnesota, Lake Oswego Center for the Arts, United States of America.

  • 1991 - The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.

  • 1992/3 - New Tracks Old Land: An Exhibition of Contemporary Prints from Aboriginal Australia, touring USA and Australia.

  • 1994 - Tyerabarrbowaryaou 2, I shall never become a whiteman, 5th Havana Biennial, Cuba, & Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; The Eleventh National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.

  • 2005 - Black Ink: Indigenous Prints from the Queensland Art Gallery Collection, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.)

  • 2007 - A Brush with Art, Eastern Desert Art Songs, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna

 

Artworks

A collection of Audrey’s artworks below.

 
 
 
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Angelina Pwerl Ngala