Betty Mbitjana - Aboriginal Art

Biography:

Betty Mbitjana born C: 1945 in Utopia, Northern Territory, is the daughter of renowned artist Minne Pwerle and the sister of artist Barbara Weir and her husband was Lena Pwerle's son, Paddy Club, who sadly passed away in 2012. Betty paints the Awelye, bush berry, bush plum dreaming and body paint. Her mother and other women used to collect fruits, cut them up into pieces, skewer them on a piece of wood and dry them to be eaten in times when bush tucker was scarce. Betty's Awelye paintings depict the designs that the women would paint on their bodies, and the dancing tracks which are made in the sand during women's Awelye ceremony. Through their Awelye ceremonies, women pay homage to their ancestors, show respect