Gracie Morton Pwerle

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Gracie comes from a highly regarded family of contemporary Indigenous Artists in Utopia (350kms north-east of Alice Springs). Gracie’s mother is

Myrtle Petyarre and her daughter is Cindy Morton Pwerle. Like many female artists of her era, Gracie began working on Batik in the early 1970’s before switching to canvas in the early 1980’s.

Gracie’s paintings depict her Dreaming of “Bush Seeds” and “Bush Medicine Leaves”. In the Dreamtime, winds blew from all directions, carrying the bush seed across the ancestral lands. This is represented in her paintings through complex fine dot patterns to depict the contours and colours of the land and the walking tracks used by women to collect the bush seeds.

The Bush Leaves Gracie paints are a central focus of her dreaming, as they serve as a useful source for medicinal and ceremonial purposes.

Gracie is one of the senior traditional custodians for the Dreaming of the vast expanse of her country, some 263kms north of Alice Springs. In accordance to traditional law the responsibility for the “Bush Seed Dreaming” has been passed down to Gracie from her father and her aunt, who are responsible for ensuring that she perseveres its traditions.