Awely by Emily Kame Kngwarreye

In deep reds, pinks, and yellows, Emily Kame Kngwarreye's "Awely" is an embodiment of her connection with her Country. Kngwarreye began painting late in her life, when she was already an elder in her community, Utopia, in Australia’s Northern Territory. The artwork’s title refers to women’s ceremonial knowledge of song, dance, medicine, and designs painted on the body. As Kngwarreye applied heavy blotches of paint to her canvases, she would sing ceremonial songs, replicating the act of painting on skin. In this way, “Awely” is both a painting of Kngwarreye’s homeplace and a conversation with it.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye Anmatyerr language group, Indigenous Australian, c. 1910-1996 Awely, 1992 Acrylic on canvas Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997 Episode produced by Addie PatrickNotes go here