Pwerle Sisters' Awelye Paintings at Château Shatto

Château Shatto in Los Angeles presented 13 abstract canvases by the Pwerle sisters—Minnie, Emily, Molly, and Galya—from the Alyawarre and Anmatyerre language groups of central Northern Territory, Australia. Painted between 2000 and 2008, all works share the title Awelye Atnwengerrp, referencing women's ceremonial bodypainting traditions. Minnie Pwerle (c. 1920–2006) was the first to adopt acrylics in 1999, encouraged by her daughter Barbara Weir, who later supplied materials to Minnie's sisters. Each artist completed a painting in a single sitting during regular workshops. The exhibition highlighted their distinct mark-making: Minnie's confident strokes, Molly's broad stripes, Galya's dabbing technique, and Emily's densely layered compositions. A collaborative centerpiece on a stand emphasized collective making. The works continue the Western Desert Art Movement's practice of translating ephemeral body art into permanent acrylic, a tradition born in Papunya settlements amid forced assimilation. The paintings preserve ancestral Dreamings and resist colonial erasure through vibrant color on black grounds.