or make 4 interest-free payments of
$1237.50Â AUD
fortnightly with
More info
 | Born: c. 1958 Language Group: Alyawarre Country: Ngkwarlerlaneme and Arnkawenyerr , Utopia Region, North East of Alice Springs Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, Linen and Wood, Silk Batik, Wood Carvings Subjects: Alhepalh (Acacia dictyophleba), Country, Ilyarnayt (Acacia validinervia), Bush Food, Rainbow Dreaming, Bush Flowers |
Janice comes from a strong family of artists working in painting, carving and batik. Her husband, Wally Clarke Pwerle, is a respected painter and carver. Her work is represented in the collections of Holmes á Court, National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. Janice participated in the 'Utopia Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project' and 'Utopia – A Picture Story' an exhibition of 88 works of silk.
Collections
Mbantua Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs
The Holmes á Court Collection, Perth
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Exhibitions
| 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 á Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland |
| 1990 | Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes á Court Collection, Harvard University, University of Minnesota, Lake Oswego Centre for the Arts, USA |
| 1991 | Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney |
| 1998 | Dreamings, Vlaams-Europeesch Conferentiecentrum, Brussels, Belgium |
| 1998 | Museum Dorestad, Wijk bij Duurstede, The Netherlands |
| 1998 | The Hague Unites the Nations, Grote Kerk, The Hague, The Netherlands |
| 1998 | Volkenkundig Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
Further References
| Brody, A. | 1989, Utopia Women's Paintings: the First Work on Canvas, A Summer Project 1988-89., cat., Heytesbury Holdings, Perth |
| Brody, A. | 1990 Utopia, a Picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes á Court Collection, Heytesbury Holdings Ltd Perth |
| Johnson. V | 1994 The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Craftsman House, East Roseville, New South Wales |
| 1990 Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes á Court Collection, exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings Ltd Perth 1991, Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, exhib. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney | |
| NATSIVAD | Data Base 1997 |
The designs in this painting are inspired by the Alhepalh (Acacia dictyophleba), a sparsely branched shrub that is found abundantly near Janice's home in the Utopia region in Central Australia. Alhepalh produces small soft coated brown seeds that the women would once collect, grind into a paste and cook into damper (bread) making it a most important food source. This practice however is not habitual now due to ready made bread. Dot work represents the seeds of Alhepalh.
'Alhepalh-penh ntang inem athaynteyew'
The seeds from the alhepalh are collected so that they can be ground up.
Depending on the size of the shrub, its trunk can also be used to fashion into spears and digging sticks and was traditionally an important trade object. Alhepalh also has medicinal properties and produces small fragrant flowers of which Janice draws inspiration from in this painting.
