The Art of Silk Batik

The Art of Silk Batik – Get to Know One of the Most Distinguished Artists, Gloria Petyarre.

Gloria Tamerre Petyarre was a world-renowned and multi-award winning artist from Atnangkere. She displayed her works globally at solo and group exhibitions in London, Paris, Ireland, the USA, Singapore, Malaysia and various other locations.

Her awards, acquisitions and accolades include being the winner of the prestigious Wynne Prize for Best Australian Landscape Painting, as well as the recipient of a Fellowship Grant from the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Arts Centre Board of the Australia Council. Gloria was also commissioned by the international French high fashion designer brand, Hermès for their 2009 collection. The design of the most widely recognised of all her artworks, titled Leaves was featured on Hermès’ silk scarves as part of the theme "Invitation to travel".

 

A Master of Different Techniques

The medium that Gloria first gained recognition for is known as silk batik. Batik is an ancient art form that has been practiced for thousands of years across Asia and the Middle East. Batiking was introduced to women in Utopia in 1977. The technique involves drawing a design onto the fabric using a medium such as wax and then dying the fabric. As the wax is resistant to the dye, the design is maintained on the fabric. The batiks were done in free hand. Although the women were experts with their ceremonial art such as body painting, this was something new. As there were no set patterns and no preconceptions as to how art was supposed to ‘look’, this resulted in stunningly unique and intricate designs.

Over time, many Utopia women became experts at this technique. There was plenty of practise, as it was an enjoyable craft and also very social.

During the 1980’s painting on canvas was introduced via the CAAMA Summer Project. Gloria was part of the first group in Utopia to delve into painting on canvas and now many of her works include acrylic on canvas, linen and paper. She was also very skilled at women’s ceremonial body paint designs known as Awelye, which is the Anmatyerre word for Women’s Ceremony. Over time she experimented with many different methods of enhancing the simple linear work in her Awelye paintings, using various tools such as sponges and her hands.

Subjects Depicted in Her Designs

There are a diverse range of subjects in Gloria’s paintings. From leaves, Awelye (women’s ceremony and body paint designs), and Arnkerrthe (Mountain Devil Lizard), to Alpeyt (wild flowers), Ntyerrm (seed of the dogwood tree), and Ntang (seed). In one of her most significant Dreamtime stories, Gloria depicts Arnkerrthe, the Mountain Devil Lizard. Travelling over her land, the Arnkerrthe created all of the people, sacred sites and other Dreamtime stories. Cultivating her own style for the Arnkerrthe Dreaming which she refers to as the ‘swirly ones’, Gloria’s unique design features the thorny skin on the back of this placid little lizard.

Mbantua Gallery is proud to exhibit Gloria Tamerre Petyarre’s artworks and warmly welcomes you to view them in person at one of our two galleries in Alice Springs or Darwin, or browse many of her works on our website.

Read more about Utopia Batiks from this wonderful book:

Utopia - A Picture Story

88 silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection

by Anne Marie Brody

Published by Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth WA

ISBN 0 646 00909 5