Artiste : Nellie Stewart

Titre de l'œuvre : Wana Wani

Format : 200 × 150 cm

Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Tjungu Palya

Référence de cette peinture aborigène : 11174

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Explications pour cette peinture Aborigène :

Nellie Stewart (1930-2011) was born in the bush at Pipalyatjara, her father's country. Her mother is from Irrunytju. As a girl she attended school at Ernabella Mission and later worked in Alice Springs teaching Pitjantjatjara language with her husband. She began painting in 2007 when she moved to Nyapari with her family.

This painting is connected to the Minyma Tutjara Tjukurpa (The Two Sisters creation story). When the little sister was very small she was blown by a big wind far to the south, to another country, where the people spoke another language and performed different Inma (ceremonies).

Many years later the big sister heard where her sister was and went to bring her back home. They travelled together for many days. The li􀆩le sister was frightened and crying. "I don't want to go on. I want to go back" she wailed. The elder sister taught her ceremonial knowledge as they travelled through the desert. Close to Irrunytju the sisters made hair belts for Inma (ceremonial song and dance). From there the big sister threw her digging stick and made the rock hole Wana Wani.

As stressed by the Dr Christine Nicholls : “Typically Nellie Stewart uses a technique of over-painting a dark background, using brushstrokes in ways that evoke ceremonial body painting designs onto dark skin. Stewart uses her brush in ways akin to women using their fingers to smear layers of paint onto the darker background, in preparation for women-only ceremonies (inma). The mark making, such an integral part of women's body painting, also plays a decisive role in Nellie Stewart's artwork”.

You can find artworks by the artist in the prestigious following collections :

National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne. VIC 
The Corrigan Collection, NSW 
Maroondah Art Gallery, Ringwood, Victoria 
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD 
Marchall Collection, Adelaide, SA 
Lagerburg-Swift Collection, Perth, WA 
W & V McGeoch Collection, Melbourne VIC 
Artbank, Australian Government National Contemporary Art

© Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin gallery with the courtesy of the artists and Tjungu Palya.