Government Mob Meeting

Kemarre's painting is a personal response to the Northern Territory National Response act (NTNER). More commonly referred to as "the Intervention", the NTNER was a government-led inactive to address claims of child sexual abuse and neglect in Aboriginal communities. As part of the programme the Australian Army provided both logistical support as well as manpower to building infrastructure in remote Indigenous communities.

The painting focuses on a meeting held in the artist's community as part of the roll out phase of the programme. The Australian Army are depicted arriving in trucks accompanied by the Australian Federal Police at the Arlparra Store in Utopia in the Northern Territory. Kemarre stated that the meeting was mainly centered around income management. In 2013 more than 13,300 Indigenous people in the NT have their income managed by the government. In discussing the work Kemarre commented "We was at Arlparra Store, big government meeting about all of our new rules. Police, Army mob, everyone was there. We was a little bit scared because we didn't know what was happening. Afterwards we got police station in Arlparra, this makes Utopia a safe place now, not so much trouble." (Kylie Kemarre, May 2013)

Kylie Kemarre was born in 1978 to parents Janice Kngwarreye, a Utopian painter and Wally Pwerle, an accomplished Utopian sculptor. Her language group is Alyawarre, and she resides around Arnkewenyerra and Soapy Bore, Utopia, N.T. Her mediums are generally acrylic painting and wooden sculpture, and she paints subjects of Awelye, Bush flowers, fighting paintings, dancing ladies, bush football, bush scenes. Kemarre started painting in 1996. She is represented in collections in the Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Flinders University Art Collection SA, Mbantua Gallery Alice Springs, and the Australian War Memorial. She has exhibited nationally and in the United States of America.