Michelle Pula Holmes

Michelle Pula Holmes’s love of country is expressed through her uplifting energetic artworks; Wonderful use of colour and intricate dotwork showcase the varied landscapes and vegetation in her Country. It is no surprise that Michelle won the People's Choice Award at the 2013 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA). Michelle was also part of the original Utopia Batik art movement during the 1980s, and her batik was acquired by the Robert Holmes Court Foundation.

Michelle takes immense pleasure in painting, and the level of detail in Michelle's art demonstrates a deep connection to country. Rather than depicting the Dreaming stories themselves, Michelle, like many of the artists from Ampilatwatja community have chosen to paint ‘Country’ which encompasses all the song lines, Dreaming stories and ancestors that inhabit their cultural landscape. Michelle’s main dreaming is 'strong bush medicine' and her works pay homage to the significance and use of traditional bush medicine.

In her spare time, Michelle loves to go hunting - the opportunity to be on Country and to see the land, plants, flowers and the trees provide great inspiration for her art.