BARBARA WEIR

Partly raised by her aunt, Emily Kam Kngwarreye, Barbara Weir was one of the Stolen Generations, where Aboriginal children were taken from their families and placed into foster care. She was reunited with her mother in the 1960s, but it took many years to repair the bonds.

Barbara's mother, Minnie Pwerle, is widely regarded as one of Australia's most significant contemporary female artists. 

Inspired by Utopia artists, Weir began painting in 1985. 

Barbara's paintings depict grasses, which have been of vital importance to Aboriginal people throughout their history. Where water is scarce, there are fewer plants, but grasses grow throughout the country, adapted to diverse conditions that range from desert to rainforest. Many parts of the grass plants are important, the stems and rhizomes were used to make fibres woven into string, bags, rope, baskets and mats. However, it was the seeds from grasses that were most important - they were used to make bush bread.