![]() | Born: Unknown Language Group: Alyawarre Country: Atnwengerrp, Utopia Region, North East of Alice Springs Medium: Acrylic on Canvas and Linen Subjects: Awelye (Women's Ceremony and Body Paint Designs), Anemangkerr (Small Melon) |
Geyla began painting in 2004 with her sister Molly after being encouraged by a very large extended family of artists to experience the pleasure of teaching her stories in a creative way. Geyla is the younger sister of the late Minnie Pwerle, one of Australia's most renowned artists.
Collections
Mbantua Gallery Permanent Collection, Alice Springs
Exhibitions
2005 | Permanent exhibition and collection, DACOU Australia, Rosewater, SA |
2005 | Group exhibition, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT 2005 Gallery Savah, Sydney, NSW |
2006 | Group Exhibition, 'The Pwerle Sisters' Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC |
2006 | Group Exhibition, 'The Pwerle Sisters' Artmob Gallery, Hobart, TAS |
2006 | APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition, Rio Tinto Offices, Melbourne, VIC |
2007 | Dacou Adelaide, Port Adelaide, SA 2007 'Standing on Ceremony', Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide, SA |
2007 | 'Utopia in New York' Robert Steele Gallery, New York. USA |
2007 | University of NSW, Shalom Department, Kensington, NSW |
2007 | 'Desert Diversity', Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC |
2007 | Group Exhibition, Australian Embassy, Washington, USA |
2007 | 'Treasures of the Spirit - Investing in Aboriginal Art', Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide SA |
2007 | APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition with Rio Tinto, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD |
2007 | 'New Works from Utopia', Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA |
2008 | 'Utopia Discoveries', Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC |
2008 | Group travelling exhibition to major cities in Australia, 'EWB Elements', presented by DACOU in conjunction with Dreamtime Art and Engineers Without Borders |
2008 | Solo Exhibition 'Gayla Pwerle - Fruits of the Desert', DACOU, Melbourne, VIC |
2008 | 'Canterbury Art Exhibition', Contemporary Australian Art, VIC |
2009 | 'Walking Together to Aid Aboriginal Health', Shalom Gamarada Aboriginal Art Exhibition, University of NSW, Kensington, NSW |
2009 | 'Utopia, Colour's of the Desert', Gongpyeong Art Space in conjunction with DACOU, Australian Embassy in Korea & Crossbay Gallery, Seoul, KOREA |
2010 | 'Utopia' Group Exhibition, DACOU Melbourne, VIC |
2010 | 'McCulloch's Aboriginal Art - The Summer Show', group exhibition, Salt Contemporary Art, Queenscliff, VIC |
2010 | 'Desert Rhythms', group exhibition, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC |
2010 | 'A Summer Exhibition from The Lands', group exhibition, McCulloch's Aboriginal Art and Flinders Village Café, Flinders, VIC |
2003 | 'The Pwerle Sisters' Group Exhibition DACOU Australia, Melbourne VIC |
Awards
2005 | Finalist - The 22nd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA), Darwin, NT |
2008 | Finalist - The 25th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA), Darwin, NT |
Geyla's painting illustrates the Anemangkerr, a small globular fruit that Geyla describes as being 'a little melon'. This fruit is high in Vitamin C and is favoured for its exceptional keeping qualities. Excess fruit is often threaded onto sticks, after removing the inedible black seeds. The fruit can then be dried and stored for a considerable period.
The ancestral dreamtime stories associated with the Anemangkerr belong to Geyla's country, Atnwengerrp. This ancient red land lies in the heartland of Alyawarre Country approximately 200 kilometres northeast of Alice Springs in Central Australia.