Grass Seeds
by Barbara Weir
Acrylic on Canvas
Loose canvas
58 x 58 cm
This artwork depicts grass seeds, an important plant from the utopia region in central Australia. The Anmatyerre people call it merne ntange ulyawe, its botanical name Portulca Olurecea.
Barbara paints the grass in all colours of its life cycle, from bright green after rain, the red bush fired, and the grey and black after fires. The seeds of merne ntnage ulyawe were an important food source for the Aboriginal people of this region, often ground up and made into cakes
Barbara (originally Florrie) Weir (born c. 1945) is an Australian Aboriginal artist and politician. One of the Stolen Generations, she was removed from her aboriginal family and raised in a series of foster homes.
After becoming reunited with her mother in the 1960s and divorced in 1977, Weir eventually returned to her family territory of Utopia, 300 kilometres (190 mi) northeast of Alice Springs. She became active in the local land rights movement of the 1970s and was elected the first woman president of the Indigenous Urapunta Council in 1985.
She did not begin painting until 1989 at about age 45, but she became recognised as a notable artist of Central Australia. Her work has been exhibited and collected by major institutions. She also has managed her mother's career; since Minnie Pwerle began painting in 2000, her work has become popular. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Weir)
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