Elizabeth Kamara Leo

Artist: Elizabeth Kamara Leo

Skin Name: Kamara (also known as Kemarre or Kamarra)

Language Group: Anmatyerr

Region: Irrultja, Utopia, Northern Territory

Vendor: Utopian Aboriginal Art

Dreaming: Bush Tucker Seeds, Ingkwelay scene, Sweet Honey Grevillea (Tharrkarr), Awely (Body Paint)

Elizabeth Kamara Leo, born in 1953 in Alice Springs, into the Anmatyerr tribe and she now lives at the outstation of Irrultja, on Utopia Station, with her partner and fellow artist Sandy Pitjara Hunter.

She began her career when she became involved in the important Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) batik-making community projects which resulted in Utopia - A Picture Story, 88 silk batiks from the Holmes a Court which toured throughout Australia. Her first foray into painting with acrylic on canvas began when CAAMA initiated Utopia Women’s Paintings the first works on canvas – A Summer Project.

Her Dreamings include, Sweet Honey Grevillea (Tharrkarr), Bush Tucker Seeds and Awely (Body paint) which is her interpretation of the designs of the women’s ceremonies.

Bibliography:

• Brody, A., 1989, Utopia Women's Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings, Perth. ©
• Brody, A., 1990, Utopia: a Picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth. ©

Collections:

• The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• 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 and Scotland
• 2007 - Patterns of Power, Art from the Eastern Desert, Simmer on the Bay, Sydney
• 2008 - From the Desert to the Sea, Yurlunggar Art, Brisbane