Keeping house
We honour the works of the First Nations peoples of Australia.
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Australia or Bandaiyan? - Bardi Elder, Aunty Munya Andrews, writes about her people's name for "Australia", which describes a bisexual being.
Glenda Nicholls ✿ Weaving storylines - Glenda Nicholls weaves fish nets and crafts feather flowers that continue a storyline passed down through her family around Milloo, otherwise known as the Murray River.
James Tylor ✿ Kaurna tool kit - Our November Laurel goes to James Tylor for his re-creation of the Kaurna tool kit, reflecting the revival of cultural skills across the wider world.
long water: fibre stories - Freja Carmichael reflects on artists whose work provides a conduit for the spirit of fresh and salt water.
Jenna Lee ✿ Folds of memory - Jenna Lee's Memorise series shows how the process of folding can have strong symbolic meaning. It begins with an Instagram challenge...
Emily Beckley ✿ A romantic side of the Torres Strait - The Garland journey has coincided with the evolution of the Indigenous Jewellery Project. Emily McCulloch Childs writes about the solo exhibition by Emily Beckley, demonstrating the potential of this important project.
Claylines: Berder, Gaba, Urrknga and Wantja - The Remote Communities Ceramics Network has been active for at least a decade providing exchange between Aboriginal clay artists across northern Australia. The latest results of this network can be seen in a new exhibition at Nishi Gallery in Canberra.
Punu ✿ Living wood - An exhibition from Maruku Arts at Uluru contains striking new works in burnt wood, punu, and "walka" board. "Walka" is a design that tells of Tjukurpa, the law of Anangu from Australian Central and Western Desert.
Jenuarrie – My story - Jenuarrie is a Queensland artist who has drawn on the Lapita ceramic tradition of her region to produce striking unique works. Here is an extract from a recent book Gift of Knowledge, where Jenuarrie tells the story of how she came to produce this work, and the values that guide her life.
Judith-Rose Thomas tunapri journeys through painting - Judith-Rose Thomas is a palawa artist who features in our On Offer exhibition. She has a life-long interest in the petroglyphs found in northern Tasmania. These have inspired a series of paintings that seek to animate those ancient designs.
Quarterly essay – Ngurra: Finding our way home - Glenn Iseger-Pilkington takes us on a journey to Ngaanyatjarra Country, to work with people whose sense of home seems timeless. The writer thoughtfully considers the meaning of this for someone of mixed Aboriginal identity. This generous story contains a profound message for settler colonial nations in the search for guidance from their Indigenous cultures.
Wakuwal: Threads of reconciliation - Peter Botsman's Wakuwal braids together the fibre traditions of Yolngu like Batumbil Burarrwanga with the journey of Irish prisoners to Australia
Ngurra: Finding our way home - Glenn Iseger-Pilkington finds a sense of home with the Ngaanyatjarra community, grounded and connected through Country.
The Nullians - Sharyn Egan reflects on her work Nullians which fossicks settler-colonial history from the turned balga craft objects abandoned in second-hand shops.
From Sumatra to Bellbrae: A Jenny Crompton story - Jenny Crompton travelled to Sumatra where she learnt wood carving from a traditional datu spirit man. This gave her an appreciation of culture, but it wasn't her own. On discovering her Wadawurrung ancestry, she has developed a unique language of art from the kelp of the coast that is both her inspiration and rediscovered Country.
Global Indigenous Runway: Lisa x Verner x Sarah - Global Indigenous Runway involved a three-way collaboration between an Indigenous artist (Lisa Waup), fashion designer (Ingrid Verner) and retail manager at Craft (Sarah Weston). The results take two-dimensional designs onto the body and into the world.
Two-Ways Learning – The gift that keeps on giving - How do incommensurate cultures work together? How do they connect while acknowledging differences? Bala ga Lili (Two-ways Learning) (2016) is a cross-cultural collaboration between Melbourne furniture designer, Damien Wright and Yolngu man, Bonhula Yunupingu, It was exhibited at Castlemaine Art Museum’s 2017 as part of The Extractive Frontier: Mining For Art, co-curated by Beverley Knight and Clare Wright.
Craft classic: Jawun - We learn from Abe Muriata about the making of the “Jawun”, a bicornual basket, which is a handsome object made from cane found in the rainforest and revered icon of Australian material culture. We also hear from Brisbane architect Christina Waterson what it is like to live with a jawun.
In Ernabella, doors open for Aboriginal jewellery - An ambitious Australian project has recently emerged. The Indigenous Jewellery Project was initiated by Emily McCulloch Childs and to date has involved Melanie Katsalidis, Kate Rohde and Melinda Young. We learn from Emily about its origins, values, methods and future ambitions.