Jeannie Mills Pwerle / Yam Dreaming (JMP706)

Jeannie comes from one of the most celebrated painting families in Australia. She is the daughter of senior Utopian artist Dolly Mills and the niece of the late Greeny Purvis Petyarre who was a tribal elder, senior artist and ceremonial leader who lived at Boundary Bore, Utopia. Other relatives include the most famous of the female aboriginal artists – the late Emily Kame Kngwarre, Minnie Pwerle, Barbara Weir and Gloria Petyarre.

Jeannie lives a traditional life at Utopia as a ngangker (traditional healer or doctor) providing advice, bush medicines and applications to people of her community. She is also heavily involved in educating and encouraging other women to participate in painting, exhibitions and culture.

Jeannie has been included in many high profile exhibitions and in 2008 was selected as a finalist in the 25th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, a wonderful achievement for a young artist.

With painting ‘in her blood’ Jeannie was destined to be a great artist. Her beautiful Yam Dreaming artworks have been snapped up by both Australian and International collectors.

Selected Collections
• Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
• Mbantua Gallery Private Collection, Alice Springs

Awards & Recognition
• 2022 Connection | Songlines from Australia’s First Peoples in a spectacular immersive experience, National Museum of Australia, Canberra
• 2008 25th NATSIAA, Darwin – Finalist

Selected Group Exhibitions
• 2023 Central Desert Showcase, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2023 The Summer Show 2023 | Grand Design, Everywhen Art, Shoreham VIC
• 2023 Top 20 of 2022, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2022 Utopia & Beyond, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2022 Synergy 2022, First Nations Artists from around Australia, Everywhen Art, Shoreham VIC
• 2022 Connection, National Museum of Australia, Canberra
• 2022 Blues and Reds of the Turning Season, Everywehn Art, Shoreham VIC
• 2021 Sounds of Summer 2, Japingka Gallery, Freemantle
• 2021 Synergy: Art from the Heartlands of Aboriginal Australia, Everywhen Art, Shoreham VIC
• 2020 Sounds of Summer, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2020 Colours of Spring, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2020 Central Focus, Art Mob, Hobart
• 2019 Defining Tradition | The Colourists, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2019 Landscape Colours, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2016 Spring Colour, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
• 2014 Small Works Collection, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2012 Little Gems, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2010 Summer Collection, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2009 Desert Miniatures, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2008 Utopia Collection, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2006 Colours of Utopia, Japingka Gallery, Perth
• 2004 Last of the 20th Century, Mbantua Gallery, NT
• 2002 Art & Soul Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
• 2002 The Cove Gallery, Portland, Oregon USA (Benefit – OHSU Heart Research Centre)
• 2002 Urban Wine Works, Portland, Oregon USA (Benefit – OHSU Heart Research Centre)
• 2002 Mary’s Woods, Portland, Oregon USA (Benefit – OHSU Heart Research Centre)
• 1993 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs
• 1990 Utopia – A Picture Story, an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes Court Collection
• 1989 Utopia Women’s Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project

The painting depicts the Bush Yam. The seed of the yam is represented by the fine white dot work and the thick colourful brushwork represents the flower and the vegetable. Jeannie’s style is unique and her palette is bright and bold.

The Desert yam is an important food source for the Aboriginal people from Utopia in central Australia. It has an impressive root system, spreading up to twelve metres from the stalk, and is commonly found in woodland areas nearby a water source.

Its bright green leaves and yellow flowers, can spread over quite a wide area, growing strongly until after the rainfall months when it is harvested by digging it out of the ground. By depicting the Yam Dreaming in their paintings, indigenous artists are able to pay homage to this significant plant and encourage its continual rejuvenation.

The women perform in their Awelye ceremonies certain songlines and dance cycles to show respect for their country and to ensure continues productivity of the Desert yam.