ARTIST PROFILE

Margaret Davis Kemarre

Born  c1938
Language Kaytej
Country Adelaide Bore (Elgoanna) 
Area  Wilora Station, Nth Alice Springs
Subject(s) Women’s Ceremony, Bush Foods and Woman’s Stories

Margaret is an exceptional artist in the style of the original, Traditional, women artists of the desert region, such as Eunice Napangardi, who commenced painting in the early 1970’s with such renowned artists as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (dcd.)  Her style of painting is very precise, featuring small, even dots in warm earthy colours. Women’s Food Gathering is the main content of her work, with the all important bush foods illustrated, always with a high degree of detail. She grew up at Santa Teresa, (SE) Alice Springs and currently lives at Wilora Station approximately 300km north of Alice Springs, which is close to her traditional country.

This intricate and time consuming style of Aboriginal art is becoming difficult to acquire, however Margaret has been executing these patterns since the 1980’s and is very willing to teach the younger members of her extended family, many of whom are also talented artists.