Dulcie Long Pula / Awelye-Atnwengerrp (Body Paint) (DLP171)

Dulcie Long Pula was born in 1979 at Boundary Bore Outstation in the Utopia region of the Northern Territory. She is an Anmatyerre woman and a highly respected artist working within one of Australia’s most significant artistic lineages.

Dulcie comes from an extraordinary family of artists. Her mother was the late and revered Jeannie (Pitjara) Petyarre, and her extended family includes some of the most celebrated names in Australian Aboriginal art, among them Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria and Kathleen Petyarre, Greeny Purvis Petyarre, and the Pwerle sisters—Minnie, Emily, Galya and Molly. Growing up immersed in this rich cultural and artistic environment, Dulcie was encouraged by her elders to paint the stories of her family’s Country.

Central to Dulcie’s practice is the Desert Yam (Bush Plum) story, a vital food source and important ancestral subject from her homelands. She is known for her meticulous execution, often depicting the leaves of the yam in finely detailed compositions that honour the spirit of this sacred plant and express hope for its regeneration. In recent years, Dulcie has expanded her practice to include powerful works depicting her ancestral Country of Alhalkere, as well as bold Awelye–Atnwengerrp (Body Paint) designs that reference women’s ceremonial traditions.

A deeply traditional woman, Dulcie continues to live with her extended family at Utopia and works as a carer at the local aged care facility. Her paintings carry a strong sense of cultural continuity, connecting ancestral knowledge with contemporary expression. Dulcie’s work continues to captivate collectors both in Australia and internationally, celebrated for its rhythmic movement, subtle colour and strong connection to Country.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

• 2022 Yam Leaf, Utopia Lane Gallery, Melbourne

Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2025 Ties That Bind: Family Matters, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2024 Black + White, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2023 Central Desert Showcase, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2022 Synergy 2022, First Nations Artists from around Australia, Everywhen Art, Shoreham
• 2021 Sounds of Summer 2, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
• 2021 Across the Top 2021, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2021 Top 20 Exhibition, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2020 Sounds of Summer, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
• 2020 Central Focus, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2020 Top 20 Exhibition, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2019 defining tradition | black + white, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2019 International Women’s Day, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2019 Small is Beautiful, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle
• 2017 Intricate Expressions, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney

The patterns throughout Dulcie’s painting illustrate women’s ceremonial body paint design. The large roundels depict the waterholes around which the women perform ceremony and the small circles are the bush melons, representing the bush tucker that they live on whilst the ceremonies are taking place, which often take up to week. The women apply the body paint designs onto their breasts, arms and thighs singing as each woman takes their turn to be ‘painted up’. Their songs relate to the dreaming stories of ancestral travel and other totemic plants, animals and natural forces. Awelye – women’s ceremony, demonstrates respect for the land. In performing these ceremonies they ensure well-being and happiness within their communities.

Although Dulcie uses a variety of bright colours in her paintings, the traditional colours used during ceremony for her dreaming stories from Atnwengerrp country are red and white. Atnwengerrp lies in the heartland of Alyawarr country, about 200 kilometres to the north-east of Alice Springs.