Born on the old Utopia station at Atnangkere c.1930, Ada Bird is an Anmatyerre speaker, and one of the senior women at Utopia. Her country is Atnangkere and she paints the Angertla (Mountain Devil Lizard), Engcarma (Bean), Unyara (Emu), Annlara (Pencil Yam), Kadjera (Grass Seeds) and Elaitchurunga (Small Brown Grass) Dreamings which she shares with Gloria Petyarre , Emily Kngwarreye , Myrtle Petyarre, Nancy Kemarre, Kathleen Petyarre, Violet Petyarre and Jeanna Petyarre. She lives at Mulga Bore (Akaye Soakage) and has been involved with the Utopia Women’s Batik group since its inception in the late ’70s. Her batiks are held in major collections in Australia and overseas. The German filmmaker Wim Wenders acquired one of her batiks and gave the artist a role in one of his films, partially shot in Central Australia. She began painting in 1988 with CAAMA’s Summer Project. In late ’89 the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra acquired a major canvas, and addition of her works to many public and private collections followed. In 1990 Ada had her first solo exhibition at Utopia Art in Sydney. Her work features on the cover of Utopia – A Picture Story, A. Brody (Heytesbury Holdings, Perth, 1990) a publication based on an exhibition of 88 works on silk by the Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland; and in The Art of Utopia, M. Boulter, (Craftsman House, Sydney 1991). She incorporates both traditional designs and representational elements in her paintings and uses linear patterns which are increasingly distinctive of her work. She has two daughters, June and Hilda, and four sons, Colin, Steven, Paddy and Ronnie.

Writers:

Johnson, Vivien

Date written:

1994

Last updated:

2011