July 2025

Wayuk (Waterlily)

This fabric was created using the linocut fabric printing technique, which has been refined at Bábbarra Women’s Centre since it was introduced in the mid-1990s.

The Lino tile is carved by the artist at Bábbarra Designs. It is printed on fabric by hand using a variety of colours and layers. The linocut technique ensures each textile is a one-off, limited edition piece.

The fabric is colour-safe and can be thrown into a washing machine. Repeated use will soften the fabric, and some fading will occur over time. 

Bábbarra Women’s Centre supports the economic independence of Indigenous women in the Arnhem Land community of Maningrida, Northern Territory, Australia. Designs created by the women at Bábbarra reflect strong cultural knowledge, which is passed down to younger generations through their textile design practice.

‘Themes in our artwork almost exclusively come from our Country and cultural connection. Our deep relationship with the land and seas of our customary clan estates strongly defines and governs the social, cultural, spiritual and territorial aspects of our lives.’

Bábbarra Designs Artist Statement

Kunmadj

Kunmadj is the Kuninjku term for large woven collecting baskets, known as dillybags.

They are often made from the burney vine (Malaisia scandens), a strong, pliable plant that grows along the ground and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. The baskets are used to collect a variety of heavy foods, such as fish caught in conical fish traps or a good harvest of yams. As well as being of practical use, dillybags are of cultural significance to Arnhem Land people. Dillybags are totemic objects and they are associated with particular sites in the landscape.

Djomi (Fresh Water Spirit)

This design depicts the story of the artist’s ancestral dreaming, the Djómi (Fresh Water Spirit).

The Djómi figure is a mermaid-like spirit with fish tail that lives in the freshwater stream that flows out to the sea cliff near Maningrida. Djómi is known to be a very powerful fertility symbol.

“If you go there, you can get pregnant easily. Djómi has babies, and they can give other babies too. The Djómi spirit is so powerful, that women can end up with multiple babies at once, twins or sometimes even more. The Djómi spirits lay eggs near the sacred freshwater stream in Maningrida. Inside the eggs are human babies as well as young Djómi. Men do not go near that swamp, because Djomi is so powerful that men might get pregnant there too. So men are too scared of that Djómi. When we visit the Djómi freshwater spring, we can hear young Djómi  crying. They sound like normal babies crying, those Djómi spirits. They are looking for a mother. This Djómi is my dreaming, I got permission from my djungkay (ritual manager) to paint this Djómi design. For me I always ask my djunguy permission to paint, because that is our cultural way. This design also depicts the freshwater lily leaves and seaweed from the base of the sea floor.” Joy Galrbin

Djomi (Fresh Water Spirit)

This design depicts the story of the artist’s ancestral dreaming, the Djómi (Fresh Water Spirit).

The Djómi figure is a mermaid-like spirit with fish tail that lives in the freshwater stream that flows out to the sea cliff near Maningrida. Djómi is known to be a very powerful fertility symbol.

“If you go there, you can get pregnant easily. Djómi has babies, and they can give other babies too. The Djómi spirit is so powerful, that women can end up with multiple babies at once, twins or sometimes even more. The Djómi spirits lay eggs near the sacred freshwater stream in Maningrida. Inside the eggs are human babies as well as young Djómi. Men do not go near that swamp, because Djomi is so powerful that men might get pregnant there too. So men are too scared of that Djómi. When we visit the Djómi freshwater spring, we can hear young Djómi  crying. They sound like normal babies crying, those Djómi spirits. They are looking for a mother. This Djómi is my dreaming, I got permission from my djungkay (ritual manager) to paint this Djómi design. For me I always ask my djunguy permission to paint, because that is our cultural way. This design also depicts the freshwater lily leaves and seaweed from the base of the sea floor.” Joy Galrbin

Wayuk (Waterlily)

This fabric was created using the linocut fabric printing technique, which has been refined at Bábbarra Women’s Centre since it was introduced in the mid-1990s.

The Lino tile is carved by the artist at Bábbarra Designs. It is printed on fabric by hand using a variety of colours and layers. The linocut technique ensures each textile is a one-off, limited edition piece.

The fabric is colour-safe and can be thrown into a washing machine. Repeated use will soften the fabric, and some fading will occur over time. 

Bábbarra Women’s Centre supports the economic independence of Indigenous women in the Arnhem Land community of Maningrida, Northern Territory, Australia. Designs created by the women at Bábbarra reflect strong cultural knowledge, which is passed down to younger generations through their textile design practice.

‘Themes in our artwork almost exclusively come from our Country and cultural connection. Our deep relationship with the land and seas of our customary clan estates strongly defines and governs the social, cultural, spiritual and territorial aspects of our lives.’

Bábbarra Designs Artist Statement