Pedro Wonaeamirri


Pedro Wonaeamirri is a contemporary Aboriginal Australian painter, carver, printmaker, singer, dancer, and performer. As a member of the Tiwi people, Wonaeamirri regards his art as both a continuation of Tiwi culture as well as an open-ended exploration of style and technique.

Biography

Wonaeamirri was born in 1974 at Pirlangimpi, Melville Island. Raised by his grandmother, Jacinta Wonaeamirri, Pedro Wonaeamirri was taught the Tiwi cultural customs and artforms by both the members of his kin and of his community. Wonaeamirri learned how to carve under the guidance of his uncle, Romuald Puruntatameri, and learned how to paint by watching elder artists at Jilamara Arts and Crafts, such as Kitty Kantilla and Paddy Freddy Puruntatameri. Wonaeamirri is also an experienced singer and dancer, both of which form an important part of Tiwi culture.

Career

Wonaeamirri began his career at Jilamara Arts and Crafts in 1991, for which he has since served as an artist, Vice President, and President of the center. Wonaeamirri has exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions, and has also been recognized or considered for numerous awards.

Style

Wonaeamirri uses traditional natural pigments and materials collected from his country, including ochre, feathers, beeswax, and wood. In his paintings Wonaeamirri utilizes kayimwagakimi, the traditional Tiwi wood comb, to create dotted infill, which is overlain upon fields of red, yellow, white, and black. Wonaeamirri depicts pwoja in a style that is both distinctly Tiwi and unique to himself, by experimenting with designs and patterns while alluding to an illustrious cultural history.

Significant exhibitions

Nginingawila Jilamara Kapi Purunguparri National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Art of the Tiwi, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Australian Perspecta 1999: Living Here Now – Art and Politics, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Beyond the Pale: Contemporary Indigenous Art, 2000 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Islands in the Sun, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Place Made: Australian Print Workshop, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra The 19th Asian International Art Exhibition, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan Primavera, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney One Sun, One Moon: Aboriginal Art in Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney The Dreamers, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Art+Soul: A Journey into the World of Aboriginal Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney ; Country, Culture, Community, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney The Tiwi: Art from Jilamara & Munupi Artists, Harvey Art Projects, Ketchum, Idaho, United States We are Tiwi: Art from Jilamara & Munupi Artists, Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, Virginia, United States All About Art, White Canvas, Brisbane

Recognitions