Joycie Morton Petyarre

Joycie Morton was born in Alice Springs in 1976 and her country is Arawerre (Soapy Bore) in the Utopia Region of the Northern Territory's northeast. She began painting at nineteen, working with acrylic on canvas and focusing on themes such as bush tucker, Irreyakwerre (Wild Onion) Dreaming, bush medicine, country, bush flowers, and women collecting imuna (bush food). Cultural knowledge was passed down to her by her grandmother, Betty Kemarre, a member of the Utopia Women's Batik Group, from whom Joycie learned hunting, bush tucker, dreamings, bush medicine, and painting. Joycie is the daughter of Betty Mills Pwerle, sister to Cindy Morton, and mother to seven children.