Dora Mbitjana / Awelye Atnwengerrp (Body Paint)

Dora Mbitjana is part of one of Utopia’s most influential artistic families. Born in 1965, she is the youngest daughter of Minnie Pwerle and a sister of the late Barbara Weir. She also grew up within the broader family circle of Emily, Galya and Molly Pwerle, surrounded by women whose ceremonial knowledge and art helped shape the Utopia movement.

Her paintings centre on Awelye, women’s ceremony and body-paint designs, together with imagery of bush melons and soakages. Dora works with strong colour, fluid movement and confident brushwork, carrying forward visual elements associated with her mother while giving them her own energy and structure. Her canvases connect family inheritance, women’s cultural practice and the distinctive visual language for which Utopia artists are widely admired.