Jeannie was born in 1951 on the Boundary Bore Outstation of Utopia, in the Central Desert Region of Australia and comes from a family of well known artists. Her country is Alhalkere, Boundary Bore, and language Anmatyerre.
Jeannie started painting batik work in the eighties. She is a founding member of one of the most important groups to develop out of desert painting - the Utopian women. Initially this group produced batik work using desert designs on silk and cotton. The success of the batik movement led eventually to the artists trying their hand at painting with acrylic on linen.
Jeannie paints the Bush Medicine, Bush Peanut, Yam Leaves and Yam Root Dreamings. She captures the spirit and soul of her culture through the use of vibrant colours. Jeannie's work is characterised by vibrant designs celebrating the spirit of the Yam plant as it generates year after year to feed the people. The bush yam has been a staple food and water source for the Anmatyerre people whose language and practices live on today. Jeannie pays homage to the bush yam during ceremony and through her artistic expression.
Jeannie’s works have been widely exhibited and feature in a number of private and public collections in both Australia and overseas.
Exhibitions
1989 Utopia Womens Paintings the first works on canvas
1990 A Picture Story exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopian artists which toured Eire and Scotland
1993 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs.
2005 Cicada Trading, Illayda, Istanbul, Turkey
2005 Cicada Trading, Milan, Italy
2006 Cicada Trading , Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2006 Cicada Trading, Annual Clear Lake Exhibition of Aboriginal Paintings, Houston, USA
2006 Cicada Trading, Paris, France
2006 Cicada Trading, Bahrain Art Society, the Kingdom of Bahrain
2006 Cicada Trading, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates