BARBARA WEIR
Barbara Weir (1945 - 2023)
My Mothers Country, 2000
framed 44.5 x 41.5cm, (33 x 30cm unframed), Acrylic on card.
ARTIST
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.WORK
This work on card evokes an aerial perspective of ceremonial grounds and traditional body painting. “I paint my mother's country, the land where we live, find and prepare our food,” she explains. “I paint the same old stories I heard as a child, only my personal style is different.”