Greeny Purvis Petyarre

Greeny Purvis Petyarre (c. 1935-2010) was an Anmatyerre man and a high-ranking tribal elder in Utopia. Greeny was the senior custodian of several Dreaming stories connected to his country, and painted them beginning in the 1980s. As an artist, Greeny has an enviable lineage: his aunt was the late Emily Kngwarreye, one of the most famous painters to emerge from Utopia, and many other family members, including his wife and daughters, have also become talented artists. Greeny has been honoured with several solo exhibitions of his work and was selected to represent artists from Utopia at an exhibition held by Nevill Keating Pictures, London, November 2005. His paintings form part of two prestigious Australian Collections - Artbank and The Art Gallery of South Australia. Greeny’s paintings are highly sought after by collectors and galleries throughout the world, especially his Yam Seed Dreamings. Greeny’s primary theme is his plant totem, the Bush Yam (atnwelarr). It is said that his vibrant, linear works track seasonal changes in the development of the yam plant and its intricate edible root system, which has provided a source of food and water for the Anmatyerrye people since time immemorial. The colours indicate different stages of development, one colour represents the Yam Seed before germinating, after germinating, and then when bearing fruit and after it has borne fruit. The dots represent the pea flowers of the plant, that flourish after rainfall in Central Australia. While Greeny was a highly regarded tribal elder, his paintings reflected his unpretentious personality – quietly unassuming, but with a feeling of endurance and respect.