Kathleen Petyarr demonstrates a masterly control in her application of pale colours allowing a soft aerial perception of the main site on her country called ''Atnangkere'' where all ceremony is practiced. This work has a cool sophisticated presence that is so modern in its appeal, yet entrenched in a profound and ageless knowledge of location and arid land survival.

The application of dots in yellow and blue, ilustrates the abundance that follows rain in the sandhill country of Kathleen's country. Small flowers appear on acres of succulent grasses and other grasses are weighted with seed ready for harvest. This explains the importance of knowing the potential of certain places in its ability to assist survival. For those people who were born here, particularly early this century, this country was most significant. Each summer the custodians continue to ceremonially celebrate the mythology that made it this way. The faint lines indicated across the canvas represent lines of low lying sandhills that shed water along their bases and into the lower lying watercourse allowing germination and growth.

Janet Holt

View further artworks by Kathleen Petyerre.