Freddy Kngwarreye Jones
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Artist Profile · Northern Territory
Freddy Kngwarreye Jones
Alyawarr elder of Thelye, Utopia, whose geometric ground designs map the tracks of the Ancestors.
Language group
Alyawarr
Skin name
Kngwarreye (also Kngwarrey)
Community
Thelye, Utopia, NT
Father
Jacob Jones, senior Alyawarr lawman
Elder and family
Freddy Kngwarreye Jones was an Alyawarr elder who lived all his life at Thelye, in the Utopia region north-east of Alice Springs. He was the son of Jacob Jones, a senior lawman of the Alyawarr people on Utopia.
He came from a family of artists. His younger sister is the painter Joy Kngwarreye Jones, his eldest sister was the late Lily Sandover Kngwarreye, and the family counted the celebrated Emily Kame Kngwarreye as an adopted sister. Freddy passed his Dreamings on to his son, Charlie Petyarre Jones, who continues to paint them. Freddy has since passed away.
His work
Freddy painted the ground designs made for sacred men’s ceremonies, seen from above. His works are geometric and strongly masculine, meticulously executed, with abstract symbols marking the sites and tracks of the Ancestors across his Country.
His Dreamings were Aherr (kangaroo), Greyneng (wallaby), Aylperlayt (caterpillar) and Kwerrenty (snake).
Greyneng (Wallaby)
Aylperlayt (Caterpillar)
Kwerrenty (Snake)
Ground designs
Related artists
Freddy’s son Charlie Petyarre Jones paints his father’s Dreamings, and Carmen Pitjara Jones comes from the same family line. The family also counted Emily Kame Kngwarreye as a sister.
Buying Freddy’s work
For authenticated paintings, buy through a recognised Indigenous art gallery such as Eastern Desert Art, and always ask for a certificate of authenticity.
Paintings by Freddy Kngwarreye Jones on eBay
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