John Dyer's painting of the Yawanawá tribe of the Amazon Rainforest explores the Kênê ceremony of tribal body painting with natural plant dyes. Rich reds and greens dominate the painting and a boa constrictor snakes through the composition. Parrots and butterflies fly through the canopy and the tribal people decorate their bodies to become one with nature. A remarkable painting.

"Body painting is a fundamental part of tribal culture. The Yawanawá use Paxiti (red annatto seeds) to create the paint they use. By using natural colour from the rainforest and by painting patterns derived from nature on each others bodies the tribe become one with nature as they sing and dance in their ceremonies. It was because of body painting that the Spirit of the Rainforest Project was possible as this gave Nixiwaka a natural eye and use of line for him to translate onto canvases and for him to inform my work." John Dyer

Item Information

Artist Chronology I Paintings in Public Collections I View John Dyer's Latest Paintings