Dulcie Long Pula
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ARTIST: Dulcie Long Pula
BORN: Utopia, NT
LANGUAGE GROUP:Anmatyerre
COMMUNITY: Utopia
Dulcie Long Pula
Dulcie Long Pula is an up-and-coming Anmatyerre artist from one of the most renowned painting families in Central Australia. Her mother is respected artist Jeannie (Pitjara) Petyarre, and her famous relatives include Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria and Kathleen Petyarre, Greeny Purvis Petyarre, and the Pwerle sisters, Minnie, Emily, Galya, and Molly.
These relatives encouraged Dulcie to paint the Desert Yam story from her family’s country, which she does with meticulous execution. Dulcie depicts the yam’s flowers and leaves, paying homage to the spirit of this special plant in the hope that it will regenerate.
While continuing her family’s tradition of painting this story, Dulcie has also branched out and pursued a more individualistic and minimalistic style. Her works depict ancestral country where important Awelye ceremonies take place. Fine rows of dots indicate the locations of sand hills, bush scrub, river flood plains and sometimes waterholes and ceremonial sites. Despite Dulcie’s progress to a more restrained colour palette, there is exceptionally fine attention to detail, complex designs and underlying cultural meaning.