Suzie Petyarre (also spelt Pitjara) Hunter (b. 1966), painter, is an Alyawarre woman who lives a traditional life in the bush at Irrultja, Utopia. The younger sister of artists Annie Petyarre Hunter, Jessie Petyarre Hunter and Sandy Petyarre Hunter, Suzie began painting in the late 1980s. In her paintings she depicts Aweleye (women's ceremony) and Dreamings from an aerial perspective, using meticulous lines of paint applied with fine needles. Her works have been exhibited in galleries across Australia and internationally.
While in Utopia in 1994, Greg Weight photographed Petyarre painting in the back of a ute. As he remembered in his book Australian Artists: 'I had this photograph lined up and asked her to look at the camera, and she gave me a cheeky smile … It was such a fleeting moment – there was no way of knowing if I had the shot until the film was processed several weeks later.'
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Gregory Weight/Copyright Agency, 2024
Patrick Corrigan AM (130 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Greg Weight on working with Jiawei Shen, and starting out as a photographer.
Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.
