Body Paint, 94A039 1994

Kathleen Petyarre, an artist of the Utopia community, created this painting on canvas with acrylic paint, using fine brushwork to build up dotted lines. The earthy palette, featuring ochre, brown, cream and black, speaks to Petyarre’s connection to the Australian landscape, and the ancestral stories of her people. These colours reflect the natural pigments used in traditional body painting, a practice deeply tied to ritual and ceremony. Petyarre’s work invites us to consider the ways in which contemporary art can draw upon, and transform, ancient techniques. Her repetitive application of dots is a labour-intensive process, a visual echo of the meticulous care involved in preparing the body for ceremony. While Petyarre's painting engages with a market-driven art world, it simultaneously acts as a powerful reminder of the enduring cultural significance of body painting as an expressive and spiritual practice. The visual rhythms of the painting resonate with the pulse of the land, and the rich traditions of mark-making that have shaped Aboriginal culture for millennia.