Galya Pwerle / Awelye Atnwengerrp (19316)

When Minnie Pwerle passed away in March 2006, she left a legacy of artworks memorable for their amazing colour and flowing imagery. Three of her sisters carried on the tradition of Minnie’s depiction of the art of Utopia, each with their own individual style but all boldly displaying the same inspiration and zest for art and their culture and love of their country.

Galya Pwerle is one of eight children and was born in the Utopia Station region of the Northern Territory.

Galya started painting in 2004. At that time Minnie’s daughter, the well known artist Barbara Weir organised a number of workshops where her three aunts – Molly, Emily and Galya – worked collaboratively and individually to produce a series of paintings based on ceremony and their Dreaming stories.

Like her sisters, Galya’s main title is Awelye Atnwengerrp and whilst the sisters share the same Dreaming, each one has their own interpretation of her Dreaming.

Awelye Atnwengerrp or Women’s Ceremony is represented by designs based on dancing tracks which can only be painted by the Pwerle or Kemarre owners. They are painted on the women’s bodies before ceremony is performed.

Galya lives with her sister Emily at Irrultja (Urultja) a small community settlement at Utopia 300kms north-east of Alice Springs. She produces highly collectable and desirable artworks which are eagerly sought by collectors and are held in galleries nationally and internationally.

Selected Exhibitions

• 2020 Pwerle Gallery x Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute ‘Atnwengerrp – Our Apmere, Our Place’ in celebration of Tandanya’s 30th year anniversary, Adelaide.
• 2018 Mercedes Me x Pwerle Gallery Art Exhibition at Mercedes Me Melbourne.
• 2018 Pwerle Gallery ‘Utopia exhibition of four generations’, Adelaide.
• 2010 “A Summer Exhibition from The Lands”, group exhibition, McCulloch’s Aboriginal Art and Flinders Village Café, Flinders, VIC.
• 2010 “The Pwerle Sisters” Group Exhibition, DACOU Australia, Melbourne, VIC.
• 2010 “Utopia”, Group exhibition, DACOU Melbourne, Middle Park, VIC.
• 2010 “McCulloch’s Aboriginal Art – The Summer Show”, group exhibition, Salt Contemporary Art, Queenscliff, VIC.
• 2010 “Desert Rhythms”, group exhibition, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.
• 2009 “Utopia, Color’s of the Desert”, Gongpyeong Art Space in conjunction with DACOU, Australian Embassy in Korea & Crossbay Gallery, Seoul, Korea
• 2009 “Walking Together to Aid Aboriginal Health”, Shalom Gamarada Aboriginal Art Exhibition, University of NSW, Kensington, NSW.
• 2008 Group exhibition, “Utopia Discoveries”, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.
• 2008 Finalist for the 25th Telstra Awards.
• 2008 Group travelling exhibition to major cities of Australia, “EWB Elements”, presented by DACOU in conjunction with Dreamtime Art and Engineers Without Borders.
• 2008 Solo exhibition, “Galya Pwerle – Fruits of the Desert”, DACOU Melbourne, Middle Park, VIC.
• 2007 ‘Utopia in New York’ Robert Steele Gallery, New York. USA.
• 2007 Annual Group Exhibition ‘Shalom’, University of NSW, Shalom Department, Kensington, NSW.
• 2007 ‘Desert Diversity’, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.
• 2007 Group Exhibition, Australian Embassy, Washington, USA.
• 2007 ‘Treasures of the Spirit’, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide, SA.
• 2007 Group exhibition, “New Works from Utopia”, Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
• 2006 ‘The Pwerle Sisters’ Group exhibition, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
• 2006 Group Exhibition, APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition, Rio Tinto Offices, Melbourne, VIC
• 2005 Group exhibition, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
• 2005 Finalist for the Telstra Awards

Selected Collections

• Fred Torres Collection
• Corrigan Collection
• Mbantua Collection
• Hank Ebes Collection
• Artau Collection

Drawing on the same Dreamings as her sisters (Minnie, Emily and Molly), Galya paints the seeds of grasses, the bush tomato and the wild orange (which is depicted in this painting in the second layer).

Women’s Ceremony (awelye) is represented by designs based on dancing tracks made in the sand (painted in the first layer of the artwork in this case). These same designs are painted on the women’s bodies before ceremony is performed.