Barbara Weir was born circa 1945 in the Utopia region at the Bundy River Station, to Irish station owner Jack Weir, and renowned Aboriginal artist Minnie Pwerle. As a child of mixed heritage Barbara was sent to live with her aunt, Australia’s most celebrated female Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye, with whom she lived until she was removed at nine years of age. A member of the ‘Stolen Generation’, Barbara spent the rest of her youth in various children’s homes, forced to disregard her traditional language, culture and heritage.
It was not until the late 1960s that Barbara was able to return to Utopia with her children and be reunited with her family. This task was further complicated by the fact that she did not speak the Anmatyerre or Alyawarr languages, a skill she and her children endeavoured to master. One means of connecting with her kin was developing an interest in Emily’s art practice, principally her batik work.
Whilst she commenced painting with acrylics on canvas in 1989, it was Barbara’s involvement in the batik art movement of Utopia that saw her travel to Indonesia in 1994 to further develop her skills, and subsequently to Europe in order to show her work in 1996. It was at this time that Emily Kame Kngwarreye passed away, at which point Barbara began to further develop her own sophisticated and contemporary style in acrylic painting. This included her signature “Grass Seed” artworks, comprised of vibrant interlacing lines that create a swaying effect throughout the canvas. Once abundant, and an important food source for the Aboriginal people, the grass bears small black seeds that can be ground up to make flour for bread and small cakes. The colours Barbara uses reflect the state of the grass in nature. When she paints it green, the grass is young and growing. When she paints it yellow, red and black, the grass is being burned in a bushfire. The colours white and grey signify the aftermath of a bushfire.
In January 2009 the Australian Artist Collector named Barbara as one of the top 50 Australian collectable artists.
Written by Katy Preston
Exhibitions
1995, 1997, 2003, Dacou Gallery, Adelaide
1995, Davis Avenue Gallery, Melbourne
1996, 2002, Framed Gallery, Darwin
1996, Gallery Woo Mang and Partners, Paris, France
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, Quadrivium Gallery, Sydney
1996, 1997, 1998, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
1997, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1997, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
1997, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne
1997, Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney
1998, ARTEXPO, New York, USA
1998, 2001, Chapman Gallery, Canberra
1998, Adelaide Festival Theatre, Adelaide
1998, Exhibited extensively in Europe including: Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands
1999, 2002, Japingka Gallery, Perth
1999, 2000, 2001, Tandanya, Adelaide
1999, 2000, 2002, Gallery Savah, Sydney
2000, ArtSauce, Singapore
2000, Redback Art Gallery, Brisbane
2000, AMP Building, Sydney
2000, "Women's Business", Chicago, USA
2001, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs
2002, Knut Grothe Galeri, Charlottlenlund, Copenhagen, Denmark
2003, Alison Kelly Gallery, Melbourne
2003, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne
2004, The Darwin Gallery, Darwin
2004, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2005, Gallery Savah, Sydney
2006, Gallery Savah, Sydney
2006, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2006, Rio Tinto Offices, Melbourne
2007, Robert Steele Gallery, NY, USA
2007, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2007, Robert Steele Gallery, NY, USA
2007, Australian Embassy, Washington, USA
2007, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2007, Tandanya Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2007, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
2007, Gallery Framed, Darwin
2007, Artmob, Hobart
2007, Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
2008, NG Art Gallery, Chippendale
2008, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2008, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
2008, Gecko Gallery, Broome
2009, Gongpyeong Art Space in conjunction with Dacou, Australian Embassy in Korea & Crossbay Gallery, Seoul, Korea.
2009, Janet Holmes Á Court Gallery, Perth
2009, "Utopia, Colours of the Desert", Gongpyeong Art Space in collaboration with Dacou, Australian Embassy in Korea and Crossbay Gallery, Seoul, Korea.
2010, "In the Footprints of Barbara Weir", Central Art, Alice Springs
2012, "Barbara Weir", Kate Owen Gallery, NSW
2012, My Country, Dacou Gallery, Melbourne
Collections
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane
Artbank, Sydney
Queensland College of Art Griffith University
Ebes Collection-Workum, The Netherlands
University of Adelaide, Adelaide
AMP Collection
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Hank Ebes Collection
Holmes a Court Collection
Hitachi Collection
Macquarie Bank Collection