Ada Bird Petyarre

ADA BIRD PETYARRE Born c.: 1930 Area: Utopia Country: Arnangkere Ada Bird was born on the old Utopia station at Atnangkere. Ada Bird is an Anmatyerre speaker, and one of the senior women at Utopia. She paints the Angertla-Mountain Devil Lizard, Engcarma-Bean, Unyara-Emu, Annlara-Pencil Yam, Kadjera-Grass Seeds, and Elaitchurunga which is Small Brown Grass. Dreamings which she shares with Gloria Petyarre, Emily Kngwarreye, Myrtle Petyarre, Nancy Kemarre, Kathleen Petyarre, Violet Petyarre and Jeanna Petyarre. She lives at Mulga Bore or Akaye Soakage and has been involved with the Utopia Women’s Batik group since its inception in the late ’70ws. Her batiks are held in major collections in Australia and overseas. The German filmmaker Wim Wenders acquired on of her batiks and gave the artist a role in one of his films partially shot around Alice Springs in Central Australia. She began painting in 1988 with CAAMA’s Summer Project. In late ’89 the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra acquired a major canvas, and addition of her works to, many public and private collections followed. In 1990 Ada had her first solo exhibition at Utopia Art in Sydney and in 1995 at the Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery Melbourne. She incorporates both traditional designs and representational elements in her paintings and uses linear patterns, which are increasingly distinctive of her work. Ada has painted for Michael Hollow from the Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery Alice Springs since 1990.