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Basket

Weaving is a skill that has been practiced by Martu for thousands of years in the making of utilitarian and ceremonial items, such as yakapiri (bark sandals) and manguri (head pads for balancing carved carrying dishes). However, coiled basket weaving as an artform is a relatively newly adopted practice for the Martu, a skill passed on from Central Desert artists in the 1990’s. Leading Martu fibre arts practitioner Nola Taylor says that basket weaving was so popular amongst Martu women that it “spread across the desert like a waru (fire)”.

Each basket is built up through wrapping fine bundles of grass in brightly coloured wool and then stitching each round on to the previous one. The baskets are primarily made from puntayarra and minarri (Amphipogon Caricinus) grass, usually collected incidentally during trips to visit family, attend ceremonies, maintain Country, and hunt and gather bush tucker. Martu artists have developed a distinctive style of basketry and individual artists continue to develop new designs and incorporate novel materials, including steel, wire and wood, into their work. 

Name: Roxanne Newberry


Community: Punmu


Biography:

"My name is Roxanne Newberry. I'm from Warakurna [Aboriginal Community]. I've been painting for a few years now.  I was watching my sister, Cynthia Burke, and my mother, Jorna Newberry, paint. I'd sometimes help them with their painting.  It gave me some ideas for my painting. I love doing aerial landscapes of my father's Country. I was watching Cynthia weave at Tjanpi Desert Weavers, then I decided to do my own. When I'm painting or weaving I forget about everything and everyone, forget about my worries. It makes me feel like me."

- Roxanne Newberry


© the artist / art centre