Kathleen Petyarre

She was born in the land of Antangker (now the Utopia region), approximately 300 km northeast of Alice Springs. She and her family led a nomadic lifestyle until the late 1940s, when they first met a white man and had to wear clothes. Her sisters are also talented artists.

She usually painted a mythical story related to Arkerrth (Thorny Devil), a small lizard that lives in the area. In the Age of Creation, the elderly woman Arkerrth and her young girls wandered through the area, shaping the landscape and performing ceremonies. The young women were disobedient and were punished with death - the woman turned into a lizard.
Kathleen presented her country from a bird's eye view, it is also a map of the Ancestors' journeys. Diagonal or horizontal lines represent hiking trails. Its palette is limited to the four earth colors that are found on the lizard's body. The multi-dot background symbolizes vegetation.

Kathleen has received numerous awards and her biographical book "Genius of Place" was published in 2001. She was invited to exhibitions in the USA, England and Bali. Her style is minimalist, fields of dots create effects of vibration and metaphysical lightness. Her elegant and lyrical compositions helped her build an international reputation as an artist.