SACHA LONG PETYARRE
Sacha Long (b. 1990)
Wild Flowers, 2023
30 x 30 cm. Acrylic on linen Canvas
ARTIST
Sacha paints wild flowers growing in her country, Atnangkere. There are many different varieties of wild flowers, known as Alpeyt, including many with medicinal properties or sweet honey used to make a sweet drink.
Born in 1990 in the NT, Sacha is the daughter of artist Marcia Turner and younger sister to Rosabella. Sacha and Rosabella both paint the Dreamtime story of the Arnkerrthe which has been passed down from their father's country, Atnangkere. Arnkerrthe travelled over Sacha's land creating all of the people, sacred sites, songs and other Dreamtime stories. In its neck it holds a sac of ochre that Sacha and her people use for ceremonies.
Although this story is passed down to her by her father, her painting style is influenced by her mother and also her extended family which includes several artists.
UTOPIA
Utopia has produced some of the most recognisable names in Aboriginal art and is notable for its strong tradition of discovering female artists. This continues today with a new generation of talented painters who are inspired by greats such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre and Ada Bird who worked at Utopia.
The legacy of these pioneering woman is a diversity of style and approach that welcomes hundreds of other artists from the Utopia clan groups.
It is a region of approximately 5,000 sq km north-east of Alice Springs and is home to around 2,000 aboriginal people. The region largely lies on aboriginal owned land called Urapuntja, it is made up of several larger communities and some very small ones!
Art is by far the largest source of employment in an area which lacks employment opportunities and skills. There are well over 250 professional artists in the region, most of them have never attended an art class!
The creative movement in Utopia began with batik and the work they produced came to international attention and was exhibited around the world. When painting reached the communities in the late 1980’s, acrylic paint on canvas with its quick drying and no mess properties, soon overtook batik.
This is a multi-generational art movement that has led Utopia's artists to become leaders in female aboriginal art.