Charmaine Pwerle

Charmaine Pwerle

DOB: 1975
Born: Alice Springs, NT
LANGUAGE GROUP: Anmatyerre
COMMUNITY: Utopia, NT

Charmaine Pwerle's art embodies a captivating fusion of talent, heritage, and innovation. She is the daughter of the esteemed Barbara Weir (deceased) and granddaughter of the legendary Minnie Pwerle (deceased). Her sister Teresa Pwerle and brother Freddy Pwerle are also well-known artists.

Growing up immersed in culture and amidst a creative environment, Charmaine was nurtured by iconic figures like her mother, grandmother, as well as Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Gloria Petyarre. This rich cultural and artistic environment cultivated her innate talent, establishing her as one of the brightest stars among the younger generation of Indigenous artists.

Charmaine's educational journey traversed two worlds, from the remote community of Utopia to the urban landscape of Adelaide and Melbourne. Despite this duality, her roots remained firmly planted in her culture, enriched by ceremonial performances and sacred narratives passed down by her grandmothers.

Professionally, Charmaine had the opportunity to not only have a broad grounding in her culture, but in the business of art. In 1992, Charmaine had the opportunity to work for the Urapuntja Council as a junior administration assistant, while living with her mother Barbara Weir and grandparents Minnie Pwerle and Motorcar Jim at Soakage Bore - an outstation on what used to be Utopia Station. It was a unique opportunity for her to delve deeply into her cultural heritage and be inspired artistically.

Charmaine has also worked for a leading gallery in Melbourne where she gained valuable experience in the marketing and selling of art. She has also been a Director and Member of the Aboriginal Cultural Council for the Aboriginal Art Association of Australia, which represents the interests of all Aboriginal Artists and Galleries.

Charmaine's early paintings were impressively executed and rich with culture and expression. She approached the canvas with much more than the usual degree of confidence. Her lines were bold and sure, echoing those of her grandmother Minnie Pwerle, but with the assurance of a much more practiced artist than her years or experience would suggest.

The brushwork in her body designs, Awelye, had all the characteristics of this family dreaming, but Charmaine lent her own distinct creative flair, pattern and movement to the canvas.

In the years that have followed she has developed her obvious talent and has become a fully initiated woman in her community. She has lived in various locations across Australia with her four daughters, son and large extended family, but has also regularly returned to Utopia to be with family and take part in cultural and ceremonial events.

Over the years, Charmaine honed her craft and deepened her understanding of her Dreaming, guided by her mother until her passing in 2023. Each brushstroke has become a testament to her reverence for tradition and her innovative spirit, culminating in a body of work that serves as a bridge between generations, preserving the stories of her people while charting a dynamic course forward.

Charmaine was deeply honored to learn the final story from her mother, a narrative at its core celebrating the sacred journey of childbirth. This profound revelation has become the focal point of her recent series, titled 'Women's Business - Old Time Way'. In these works, Charmaine skillfully captures the essence of this timeless narrative, infusing her paintings with exquisite layers of complexity and movement. These artworks beautifully intertwine tradition with contemporary expression and are a breathtaking illustration of visual storytelling.

Charmaine continues in exploring and stretching her artistic limits. With each step on her cultural exploration, her craft evolves. Across the globe, galleries and collectors await eagerly as her remarkable body of work expands.

Charmaine's art has captured the attention of major institutions and many prestigious art prizes, and her exhibition history both nationally and internationally continues to grow exponentially. Notably, her participation in the immersive exhibition 'Connection' at the National Museum of Australia in 2022 and The Lume, Melbourne in 2023-24 showcased the profound impact of her work.

With each stroke, Charmaine Pwerle weaves a tapestry of cultural heritage and contemporary vision, ensuring that the legacy of Indigenous art endures and evolves in her capable hands.

Copyright Kate Owen Gallery, May 2024


Dreamings:

Charmaine's main inspirations are the Atnwengerrp area and Awelye (women's ceremonies and body paint).

Awelye:
The women paint each other's breasts and upper bodies with ochre markings, before dancing in a ceremony. The body designs are important and, painted on chest and shoulders, they relate to each particular woman's dreaming. The ochre pigment is ground into powder form and mixed with charcoal and ash before being applied with a flat paddled stick or with fingers in raw linear and curving patterns. The circles in these designs represent the sites and movement where the ceremonies take place.

Atnwengerrp Country:
The lines in the painting depict the tracks that her people made as they trekked across the country in search of food and dry river beds. The large semi-circular shapes represent the sandhills and valleys. The dark colour represents the path of a fire that has swept across the land.

My Grandmother's Country:
Minnie Pwerle, came from a region called Atnwengerrp at Utopia and it is this country that Charmaine depicts in her paintings.