MINNIE MOTORCAR PWERLE

Biography

Minnie was born in the Utopia area north of Alice Springs around 1922.

She married Motorcar Jim whose name she bears although Aboriginal women don’t usually take their husband’s names.  Minnie like many other Utopia women participated in the famous Batik project. She started to paint in the mid 90’s but Emily Kame Kngwarreye, her sister-in-law thought her style was too like her own and chastised her. Minnie didn’t really start her painting till after Emily passed away and she was in her 80’s by then.

She drew on her strong body painting tradition to create her dynamic canvases. Her main totem, bush melon is found in sections of her painted breasts. Her use of color like Emily’s makes her works much sought after in a modern architectural setting. Minnie passed away in 2006.