
In association with Ikuntji Artists, we are delighted to bring you a small focus exhibition of Pam Brown’s paintings.
Born in 1960 in Papunya, NT, she was taught to paint by her uncle, Cameron Tjapaltjarri (1947-2006), an acclaimed Papunya Tula artist, and her aunt, Leonie Kamutu, also a painter at Papunya Tula Artists.
Pam Brown now lives and works in Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff), NT and is one of the art centre’s rising stars. Her delicate two-toned diamond-shaped motif depicts the Papa Tjukurrpa, or Dog Dreaming.
This story from Niyuman, east of Kintore, belonged to Brown’s father and is sacred men’s business. The patterns on her canvas are used as body paint for the sacred ceremonies associated with the Papa Tjukurrpa. Initiated men from her area would know the details of the story just by looking at her works but beyond these men, access to the deeper meaning behind the lines is restricted.
For Indigenous people real, living power lies within the meaning of these marks. We might see them as beautiful graphic elements, however Indigenous people read them as we would a book or musical score. Since we are uninitiated, we cannot “read” the marks and therefore cannot be harmed by nor exercise the power within. We are left instead to marvel at the mystery of another way of knowing that can be rendered so fully and concisely through elegant symbolism.
In 2022 Pam Brown developed her first fabric-by-the-metre designs during a textile workshop. She was a finalist in the 2023 National Indigenous Fashion Awards, Textile Design Award.
Brown’s work is held in the collection of Fondation Opale, Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
To email us about any of the works below, hit the “ENQUIRE” button under each work and be sure to include the unique painting code listed below the price in your email.
Papa Tjukurrpa – Dog Dreaming, 2021
acrylic on linen, 121.5 x 137 cm / 28″ x 54″
GZIKU/PB-229
Papa Tjukurrpa – Dog Dreaming, 2023
acrylic on linen, 71 x 122 cm / 28″ x 48″
GZIKU/PB-310
Papa Tjukurrpa – Dog Dreaming, 2023
acrylic on linen, 71 x 121.5 cm / 28″ x 48″
GZIKU/PB-21
Papa Tjukurrpa – Dog Dreaming, 2023
acrylic on linen, 50 x 50 cm / 20″ x 20″
SOLD
GZIKU/PB-154