Emu

Kwementyay (Wally) Clarke Pwerle was one of the founders of the Utopia carving movement. Pwerle was married to artist Janice Kngwarreye and lived near Kurrajong Bore at Arnkewenyerra. He learned carving by making boomerangs and shields before applying his skills to figurative sculpture. Pwerle’s subjects included animals and sporting figures, and ceremonial and historical retellings.  

The Ngkawenterre camp in the Utopia homelands of the Northern Territory is known for the carved animals made there. Much of Utopia’s (Ngkawenyerre) 1800 square metres, was a pastoral property begun in the 1920s. When it was returned to the Anmatyerr and Alywarr owners in 1979, the practice of carving animals from mulga and beanwood timbers was revived and artists began painting carvings with acrylic paint.  

Utopia also has a strong tradition of batik, painting, and printmaking.  Acclaimed painters Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Kathleen Petyarre and Gloria Petyarre emerged from there.