Susan Pitjara Hunter

Susan Pitjara (also spelt Petyarre) Hunter was born circa 1966 into the Alyawarre tribe in Utopia. Susan is the younger sister of artists Annie Pitjara Hunter, Jessie Pitjara Hunter and Sandy Pitjara Hunter. She resides at the outstation of Irrultja on Utopia in the Eastern Desert and lives a traditional life spending all her time in the bush with her husband Clement.

Susan Pitjara Hunter (also known as Susie) is one of the most gifted young emerging artists of this region. Susan has exhibited in various fine art galleries within Australian and overseas. For such a young artist, Susan has always had a deep sense of belonging to her country and has remained steadfastly 'outbush'. Her meticulous execution of Women's Business is rendered with extreme care and respect for her subject matter. The end result is a beautiful myriad of intricate patterns symbolising her Dreaming.

In her paintings Susie depicts women's ceremonial sites or dreaming places where women are gathered. The land and women are painted as if seen from an aerial perspective. The women’s bodies are decorated with natural ochres of red, white and yellow. The women sit and chant the songlines that have been passed down to them from their ancestors. It is at these ceremonial meetings that the women pass on their tribal Dreamings to the younger ones and pay homage to their ancestors, the land and food it produces. These Dreamings and ceremonies teach the community the rules of life in the desert environment.

Exhibitions

1989 A Myriad of Dreaming. Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, Westpac Gallery, Melbourne

1989 Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.

1989-91 Utopia - A Picture Story, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide

1990 ‘Utopia - A Picture Story,' an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire & Scotland.

1991, 92,93,94,96 - Araluen Centre for the Arts, Alice Springs,NT

1997 ‘Geschichtenbilder’, Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer, Germany.

1999 ‘Aboriginal Art - Australien Now’, Deutsche Welle, Koln, Germany (in co-operation with the Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer)

1999 ‘Australie – Art, Arts d'Australie’, Stephane Jacob / J.L. Amsler - Bastille, Paris.

2004 ‘Bilderwelten in Utopia’, Holzschnitte und Gemaelde vom Aborigines, Staedtisches Kunstmuseum Spendhaus Reutlingen, Kunstmuseum Bayreuth, Germany (in cooperation with the Aboriginal Art Gallery Bahr, Speyer)

2006 ‘Senior Women of Utopia’, GalleryG, Brisbane

2006 ‘Utopia’, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

2007 ‘Standing on Ceremony’, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide

2007 ‘Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert’, Simmer on the Bay Gallery, Sydney

2007 ‘Eastern Desert Dreaming-Artists from Utopia’, GalleryG, Brisbane

2007 ‘Desert Diversity’, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

2006-8 Permanent Collection, Dacou Gallery, Adelaide

2008 ‘Utopia Discoveries’, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.

2008 ‘EWB Elements’, Engineers Without Borders travelling group exhibition to major cities of Australia in conjunction with Dacou and Dreamtime Elements.

Collections

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Perth