Natalea Holmes Pula Alyawarre , b. 1982
38 5/8 x 21 1/4 in
Natalea Holmes Pula is a young Anmatyarr painter, born in 1985 and is from the Utopia region of the Northern Territory. She is one of the region’s talented younger generation artists. Utopia is approximately 300 kms north-east of Alice Springs, and is famous for its painting movements, and particularly its female painters, such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye. The tradition of painting in the region is strong, based on body paint designs used in ceremony, and relate to the artists family genealogy and inherited lands. Holmes’s has become known for precise geometric abstract designs which are based on the body designs that women paint on their bodies for ceremony. In recreating these in paint, she is paying homage to both her country and the women who care for it. These paintings often contain shimmer, the optical movement created by fine lines, which represents the spiritual power of the creation ancestors and is a highly prized quality within the field of Aboriginal art. In 2020 she started a new and completely different style of painting in which she portrays the flowers, trees, topographical features and colours of her lands with great insight and a fresh vision.