Mary Kemarre Morton

Artist: Mary Kemarre Morton

Skin Name: Kemarre (also known as Kamara)

Language Group: Alyawarr

Region: Utopia, Northern Territory

Vendor: Utopian Aboriginal Art

Dreaming: Awely (Body Paint), Bush Plum (Arnwekety)

Mary Kemarre Morton - born in 1925 on MacDonald Downs - is one of the senior women on Utopia and therefore has responsibility for initiating young women. She is involved in painting body designs on young women, singing Awely songs to encourage their fertility and teaching them the rules of life. Her country is on the northern end of Utopia and she has custodial responsibility for the Kurrajong tree seed. She was married to Billy Stockman Morton (deceased), who was a renowned sculptor. Mary is passionately involved in maintaining traditional practices for her people. She is also highly regarded for her bush medicine skills.

Mary Morton’s entire oeuvre is devoted to Awely which refers to the ceremonial world of women’s business and includes women’s ceremonial body designs. These ceremonies are associated with women’s social structure and ritual knowledge. Awely can also refer to particular ceremonies and its songs, dances and designs. Morton’s energy and passion as custodian of the Awely is reflected in the innate lyricism in her work.

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:

• Aboriginal Art Museum, The Netherlands.
• Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide.
• Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
• Museum of Victoria, Melbourne.
• 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.;
• 1991 - The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin;
• 2006 - Senior Women of Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
• 2007 - Desert Song, Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, SA