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Kalawan (Goanna)

Kalawan (goanna) is a secret (ceremony) story. 

:Kalawan stays in mud surrounded by stone. Kalawan is active during the wet season but may hibernate underground during the yekke time – the colder, drier months of  May – August. 

When people go into the spear grass country to collect pandanus to make mandjabu (fish trap) and marebu (floor mats) they may encounter Kalawan. People respect his place.”

Janet Kalidjan Marawarr in conversation with Jessica Stalenberg 04.06.25

Common name: Gould’s Sand Monitor.

Categories: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation

Name: Janet Marawarr

Language: Kune, Kuninjku

Community: Maningrida

Biography:

Janet Kalidjan Marawarr is a senior Kuninjku artist who has been creating textile-based artwork at Bábbarra Women’s Centre for almost 40 years. Also a skilled bark painter, Janet views her art practice as a way to explore color and experiment with new media to express her djang (ancestral creation stories). Her artistic journey has taken her to Paris, Los Angeles, New Zealand, and most recently, India.

In 2019, Janet traveled to Paris to launch the touring exhibition Jarracharra (Dry Season Wind), which featured her work. In 2022, she traveled to Los Angeles, where her work was included in the exhibition Aboriginal Screen-Printed Textiles from Australia’s Top End at the Fowler Museum, UCLA. In January 2023, Janet was invited by the Australian Consul-General in Kolkata to explore the textile-rich region of West Bengal as a guest of honor. During her 10-day visit, she shared her knowledge with various women’s groups, including the Bridging Culture and Art Foundation’s Kantha studio in Tushkhali, Sundarbans; Sadaf India Studio; and the Navajeevan Co-operative Society in Jajpur, Odisha.

'I saw the old people doing only lino with bush dye, no screen printing. I was 18 then and I’m 60 now, so it’s been 40 years. I used to watch my mum weave baskets, and I saw my grandfather painting, too. One day, I learned from him. I love printing and linocuts, printing my designs on textiles.' - Janet Marawarr, Artlink 2023

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© the artist / art centre