Emily Pwerle

Emily Pwerle was born c 1922 and shares the same country and languages with her sisters Galya, Molly and Minnie Pwerle. She also shares the same dreamings. As was the case with her sister she started painting at the workshops arranged by her niece, Barbara Weir, in 2004

Emily, along with her sisters Galya and Molly, could not have had better teachers (Barbara, an international star and Minnie who was widely collected in Australia and elsewhere). 

When Emily paints “Awelye Atnwengerrp (women’s ceremony), she employs a series of lines and symbols and often criss-crossed patterns. These are frequently laid one on top of another in colours that are expressive, colourful and dynamic. Her patterns originate in body design and were an integral part of ceremonies. 

The nature of Emily’s paintings encapsulates the way of life of her family. She now turned 100 and can recall and produce notions of those early days and nights where ceremony was such an integral part of her life.  This contact with a stone-age culture is rapidly diminishing but may still be made through the work of Emily and her sisters. 

Although the sisters share the same Dreaming, each has developed a unique own contemporary style.