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Gap
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East McDonnell Ranges, NT
East Mac – Story other side of Ross River – sacred site for the women.
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Bush Area Near Areyonga, NT
My father and I are from Areyonga. It is a special place for us and the Dreaming related to it is secret. I learned this story from my grandfather, he used to tell me the story of the countryside.
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Para Ingkwia
Para Ingkwia – this is about the Gumtree and the hills and the spinifex and the Grass belongs to the creek sands. There are birds flying in the dark and cloudy blue sky.; it is clear sky further away. The black cockatoos are flying towards the old gumtree.
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Woven Mat
Fibre Art is an ancient Aboriginal women’s craft that is still made today using the same techniques as their ancestors. Making fibre art is labour intensive and much care and fine needlework is required to ensure the finished object is both functional and beautiful. Fibre art from Ghunmarn Culture Centre includes dilly bags, floor mats, bush fans, woven creatures found in the landscape, plants such as yams (bush potato), baskets, place mats, and spirit figures such as mermaids and Mukuys. Natural pandanus fibre (Mukarra), is used to make much of the fibre art produced by the artists of Djilpin Arts. Women collect the pandanus by pulling from the top of the pandanus tree, then stripping and drying the leaves before they are dyed with natural bush colour collected from the Beswick surrounds.
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Filesnake, Barramundi & Rainbow Serpent
This painting depicts a filesnake (top), barramundi (middle) and rainbow serpent (bottom). All are hiding among freshwater lily pads.
Painting has been completed using a handmade grass reed brush called Jarlk. This is harvested from billabongs and wet areas surrounding Beswick. Raark or fine line work is in a mixture of Yirritja and Dhuwa style.
Filesnake at the top has been completed using a modern paintbrush and a stippling effect. Middle barramundi is in Dhuwa style and consists of a single line before alternating colour. Bottom rainbow serpent is in Yirritja style which has multiple lines before alternating colour.
Modern acrylic paint has been used.
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Bathi (Pandanus Basket)
Bathi are woven from the split leaves of the Screw Palm (Pandanus Spiralis). Coil weaving was introduced to Arnhem Land in the 1930s. It was adapted from techniques used by Indigenous women throughout South East Australia.
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Mat
Mats can vary greatly. Artists commonly use a mix of naturally dyed and undyed fibre to create a striking variation of coloured bands. Some artists also incorporate different types of looping to produce different patterns and textured finishes. Each type of mat, fibre bag, basket and dilly bag has its own name in the various languages spoken in the Maningrida region.
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Minnie Mintern
How did you get to this style of painting?
“Do you mean, what have I done with my life? (chuckles to herself) To me these paintings are a sense of energy. So if I see someone and they’re happy, I paint a happy vibe. Cos their spirit is happy. And sometimes it’s hard because on the outside they’re real happy but on the inside they’re real sad. Sometimes you do stuff (like a painting) and it adds up later on. But I still don’t know what it means and don’t know where my style comes from because it’s both the path I walk on and the cracks in the dirt. It’s like looking at a landscape but I haven’t been there yet. Maybe I’ll get there one day. I believe things happen for a reason.”
– Sylvia Wilson