Mary is an established artist from Utopia, a community located 240 kilometres north east of Alice Springs known for its quality art.
Mary was involved in the Batik project of the 1970s, when Western craft practices and traditional Indigenous imagery were combined for the first time. Aileen was one of the early artists who began to use acrylic paint and canvas in the1980s.
In her works Mary depicts Dreaming stories from her father’s Country, Antarrengeny, or Awelye. Awelye is the body paint designs used in traditional women’s ceremonies. As a senior woman of her community, Mary is involved in painting these designs onto the bodies of younger women. She is passionate about maintaining traditional practices in the community and this didactic aim continues through her work.
Mary’s works can be found in a number of important collections throughout Australia and overseas.
COLLECTIONS: Aboriginal Art Museum, The Netherlands.
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide.
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne.
The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth
EXHIBITIONS: 1989 - Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney;
1990 - Utopia - A Picture Story, an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland.;
1991 - The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin;
2006 - Senior Women of Utopia, GalleryG, Brisbane
2007 - Desert Song, Brush with Art Festival, Prairie Hotel, Parachilna, SA