Lot 71

The Artist
Utopia Batik, Northern Territory, cat. no. 959 (accompanied by a copy of the certificate of authenticity)
Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
The Le Pley Collection, Western Australia, acquired from the above in 2009

Australian Aboriginal Art, Residence of the Australian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, Beijing, 2018 (illus. p. 14)

"Created at Arlparra, Utopia, Northern Territory, during the Utopia Batik Revival Workshop 2007 conducted by Julia Murray, founding coordinator of Utopia Batik, 1978-1982.
This work, in hot orange and red, is a classic Lena Pula work: it features the loatjira (goanna), a recurring theme in her work, along with the characteristic Utopia Batik 'starburst' of Spinifex-like motifs.

A senior authority figure at Utopia, Lena is highly respected and revered, She was one of the first Health workers at Utopia, as well as one of the first batik artists when Utopia Batik began in the late 1970s. Since then she has represented the Utopia community in many ways, travelling to Indonesia and China. She has been a keen batik artist from the outset, and at the Utopia Batik Revival Workshop she came every day, even though she had to use a walking stick and some days had to be assisted to walk. She has great pride in the batik work created by the women at Utopia, and has given great support to the undertaking from the beginning. Her batiks are held in many private collections such as the Holmes a Court collection, as well as by the National Gallery of Victoria, the National Gallery of Australia, and the National Museum of Scotland."
As stated on the Utopia Batik certificate of authenticity

© Lena Pwerle/Copyright Agency, 2023