Senior Australian Aboriginal artist Lindsay Mpetyane Bird will exhibit a collection of new work , paintings and prints, at Jeffrey Moose Gallery, 1333 Fifth Ave, Rainier Square, Seattle from Friday, Nov. 3rd through December 9th. A reception will be held on Friday, Nov. 3rd featuring a presentation on the subject of Australian Aboriginal art, videos and live digeridoo music.

Australian Aboriginal art is one of the most powerful recent entries on the contemporary art scene, even though its origins go back further, perhaps, than any other surviving art form on the planet. The "Dreamings", or creation myth stories, of the plant and animal ancestors which support traditional Aboriginal societies are the primary content of their art. Aboriginals see themselves as caretakers of the lands from which they came and their reverence for the earth and its bounty exudes from all their cultural activities.

Mr. Mpetyane Bird is a senior "Lawman" (cultural and environmental custodian)in his country in Australia's central Desert, a community known as Mulga Bore, close to the famous art center of Utopia. He is the nephew of the Grand Dame of the desert painters, Emily Kngwarreye, whose work is collected by institutions and private individuals world wide. He had worked with Ms.Kngwarreye and others (primarily women) from the early days of the Aboriginal Art movement in the early 70's and eventually adapted his batik imagery for acrylic on canvas.

An Eastern Anmatyerre speaker, Mr. Mpetyane Bird has several totems for which he is resonsible and these are the subjects of his artworks:Charpa (Honey Ant), Utnea and Emalu (snakes), Elcudjera(prickle), Ulkuta (a lizard), Kawata(the lizard's egg), Ulumba(white tree), Arake and encelcha (the fruit of the Bush Plum and the tree itself). Other totems are also depicted in his works, some of which he has been granted permission to paint by others.

His style is strong and quite formal, typical of Men's paintings, and he has produced many monumental works which depict major Ancestral journeys and activities of Anmatyerre men's law (ritual). The works of Mr. Mpetyane are held in many significant collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Melbourne (Australian museums are called "galleries"), Art Gallery of Western Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth, The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, CA and many others.

Please refer questions to Jeffrey Moose, 206.467.6951 or jmoose@jeffreymoosegallery.com.