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Kunmadj and Bush Flower

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.

Categories: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation

Name: Jennifer Wurrkidj

Language: Kuninjku

Community: Maningrida

Biography:

Jennifer Wurrkidj is a highly regarded textile artist who has been working at Bábbarra Designs since 2007. Her print designs often feature bush foods and food-collecting and reference the activities of ancestor beings and the ceremonial sites of her homeland, Mumeka.

Jennifer works at Bábbarra Women’s Centre alongside other members of her family who are also accomplished artists: her mother, Helen Lanyinwanga, and sister Deborah Wurrkidj. She is a daughter of Australia’s most highly acclaimed bark painter, John Mawurndjul, and she is renowned, in her own right, for her bark paintings, hollow logs and carved sculptures. Jennifer’s artwork has been exhibited throughout Australia and her textile art is in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia.

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