Joy Kngwarreye Jones
About
Skin: Kngwarrey (also known as Ngwarrai)
Region: Utopia, Northern Territory
Dreaming: Awely (Women's Business)
Joy's Story
Joy Kngwarrey Jones’ inspiration for her paintings is derived from her knowledge of Awely or women’s business. Awely describes everything associated with women’s ceremonies or rituals including the painted designs adorning the women’s bodies.
In preparation for the ceremonies, the women paint designs on the top half of their body using a variety of powders, ground from charcoal and yellow and red ochre. The body paint designs vary from ceremony to ceremony and depend on the subject and the time of year the ceremony is held. Different symbols are painted on the body and may vary from person to person depending on the seniority of each member. Joy Kngwarrey Jones’s paintings represent her interpretation of these designs which she views from an aerial perspective.
Collections
Aboriginal Art Museum, The Netherlands
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
Exhibitions
1989, Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
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
2006 - Senior Women of Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 - Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay, Sydney.
2007 - Eastern Desert Dreaming, Artists from Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 - Eastern Desert Song - Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna
2008 - Power of Place, Paintings and Sculpture from the Eastern Desert, Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc.
2008 - From the Desert to the Sea, Yurlunggar Art, Brisbane
2009 - East-West-Brush With Art, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2009 - Aboriginal art in Korea, Gong Pyeong Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2010 - The Utopia Story, Australasian Arts Projects, Singapore
2010 - Western and Eastern Desert Art, Blaxlands Inn, Hunter Valley, NSW
2010 - Aboriginal Artists UK Spring Show 11-13 June, London
2011 - Utopian Aboriginal Art, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2011 - Desert Visions, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2012 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2013 - Aboriginal Artists UK Show , London
2014 -Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2014 - Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2016 – Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2017 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2018 - Indigenous Group Show, Without Pier Art Gallery, Melbourne
2018 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2019 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2020 - Richmond Hill Gallery, London, UK
2020 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
2021 - Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, South Australia
Artworks
A collection of Joy’s artworks below.
