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Mukirr Dance on yellow back ground

Mukirr dance is about is about when I would go with my mum, aunties and other family to the Daintree River to find mussel shells. Using our feet on the river bed, we would feel where the mussel shells were. Once we located them we would dive and collect the shells and put them in our dresses or shirts to hold. Once our dresses were full, we would swim to the bank and off-load to another family member to get them ready to eat by putting them on the fire. When the ladies were feeling with their feet, it would look like they were dancing in the water. Mukirr means mussels, that’s why this artwork is called Mukirr Dance. The Mukirr dance to me represents my mother, aunties and older cousins as well as many Yalanji women of the past because this was a part of bama life. Today, some ladies still collect mussel shells up in the shallow area of the Daintree River.         

Categories: Bamanga Bubu Ngadimunku Aboriginal Corporation

Name: Karen Gibson

Language: Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Nyungkul

Community: Mossman

Biography:

My name is Karen Gibson, I am from the Yalanji and Nyungkul Tribe. My Aboriginal name is "Dilbael" which means poisonous white flower that is jealous of all the other flowers.

As a small child I always wanted to draw, but I didn't start to formally make art until 1984. Initially I painted artefacts for sale in the Art Gallery at Mossman Gorge, however in recent years I’ve focused on painting, printmaking, especially screen printing, lithograph and etching.

There are different aspects to my work. Mostly my ideas come from how I feel about what I see and hear and basically what affects my mood. Certain music also contributes to what I put on canvas.

I have three sons who are my best friends and I love animals. I feel blessed to have been influenced by my grandfather and my mother, they have contributed to the way I see things and how to translate that onto canvas.

I thank God for blessing me with the ability to work through art and hope my work will bring a sense of good feeling and positive emotion to Australia and the World.

 

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