September 2024

221382324128

Clapsticks

Wood carving has always been part of Aboriginal culture. Men carved wood for many purposes – tools for hunting or gathering food, axes and knives for building shelters, spears and clubs for protection of their lives and territory, objects for ceremony and to mark sacred sites.

Artists source the timber on country, walking from tree to tree to find the right piece for the desired functional outcome. Once found, it is cut and then brought back to camp to be worked, shaped, sanded and finally finished.

Clapsticks are used in traditional ceremony and dance as a percussion instrument to accompany Mago (didjeridu). Denser woods such as Ironwood or Kerosene wood are preferred due to their crisper clap sound. Clapsticks can be left raw or painted and decorated. Straight timber from younger trees is preferred as it requires less work to make functional.

By CompNet Systems, ago

115982324851

Yalka (Bush Onion)

All the family digging for yalka (bush onion) in Ntaria. Kwatja kngarrala nhamalanga yalka mangkama. Wild onions grow after lots of rain.

By CompNet Systems, ago

115982324844

Outstation (Stephanie Ratara)

My Family outstation. All the families would stay there. The men would go out with Nanda Mapa (horses) and muste the cattle and camels. The kijtia and Arkutja Mapa (kids and women) they would stay at the outstation making food, playing games and growing garden. You can see all the kids playing and all the family happy together. Those were good times.

By CompNet Systems, ago

221382324795

Woven Dragonfly

This finely crafted hand woven dragonfly is a cheerful reminder of the real dry season dragonflies.

Signalling in the dry season, dragonflies are ubiquitous with dry winds, cool nights and saying goodbye to the wet season! Our senior fibre artists are continuing to expand their techniques and range with dragonflies and other complex woven forms. Each are unique, hand woven and coloured using natural bush dyes.

Pandanus fibre art is labour intensive requiring a high level of care and fine needlework. Finished works are both functional and beautiful. Women collect pandanus by pulling from the top of a pandanus tree, stripping then dying the leaves using natural bush colour.

By CompNet Systems, ago

221382324793

Woven Dragonfly

This finely crafted hand woven dragonfly is a cheerful reminder of the real dry season dragonflies.

Signalling in the dry season, dragonflies are ubiquitous with dry winds, cool nights and saying goodbye to the wet season! Our senior fibre artists are continuing to expand their techniques and range with dragonflies and other complex woven forms. Each are unique, hand woven and coloured using natural bush dyes.

Pandanus fibre art is labour intensive requiring a high level of care and fine needlework. Finished works are both functional and beautiful. Women collect pandanus by pulling from the top of a pandanus tree, stripping then dying the leaves using natural bush colour.

By CompNet Systems, ago

221382324792

Woven Dragonfly

This finely crafted hand woven dragonfly is a cheerful reminder of the real dry season dragonflies.

Signalling in the dry season, dragonflies are ubiquitous with dry winds, cool nights and saying goodbye to the wet season! Our senior fibre artists are continuing to expand their techniques and range with dragonflies and other complex woven forms. Each are unique, hand woven and coloured using natural bush dyes.

Pandanus fibre art is labour intensive requiring a high level of care and fine needlework. Finished works are both functional and beautiful. Women collect pandanus by pulling from the top of a pandanus tree, stripping then dying the leaves using natural bush colour.

By CompNet Systems, ago

221382324791

Woven Dragonfly

This finely crafted hand woven dragonfly is a cheerful reminder of the real dry season dragonflies.

Signalling in the dry season, dragonflies are ubiquitous with dry winds, cool nights and saying goodbye to the wet season! Our senior fibre artists are continuing to expand their techniques and range with dragonflies and other complex woven forms. Each are unique, hand woven and coloured using natural bush dyes.

Pandanus fibre art is labour intensive requiring a high level of care and fine needlework. Finished works are both functional and beautiful. Women collect pandanus by pulling from the top of a pandanus tree, stripping then dying the leaves using natural bush colour.

By CompNet Systems, ago

111582324804

Nyilangkurr

Nyilangkurr is a group of three large tali (sandhills) located between Kartarru (Canning Stock Route Well 24) and Tiwa (Canning Stock Route 26), and just east of Wantili, an important creation site.

The traditional lands of the Martu people encompass the Great Sandy Desert and Rudall River regions of Western Australia, an enormous tract dominated by distinctive red tali, or tuwa (sandhills). These sandhills present an unforgiving landscape; sparse vegetation covers a seemingly never ending expanse of dunes, and yet these lands and the location of resources within them was known intimately by its pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) inhabitants. At this time, Martu traversed very large distances annually in small family groups, moving from water source to water source through the harsh desert landscape with incredible stamina and resourcefulness. Travel was often undertaken at night, and when travelling during the day, Martu wore yakipiri (woven bark sandals) to protect their feet from the hot desert sand.

By CompNet Systems, ago