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Kunbowinjku (Fresh Water) 2022

Kunbowinjku (fresh water)

A new design made in 2022 featuring a mandjabu (fish trap), kunmadj (dilly bag) and fresh water weed.

 

‘This design is kunbowinjku – which is fresh water, kunronj. This is a mandjabu – fish trap which is floating in a creek. Fish will go in like yabby, long neck turtle and barramundi. This is a Kuninjku style of fish trap used for hunting. My father is from my Kuninjku side and he used this kind of trap. My mum is from my Kunibidji – Ndjebenna language side. This mandjabu is made from manylik grass.’

Raylene Bonson

Categories: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation

Name: Raylene Ngalamyorrk Bonson

Language: Ndjébbana, Kuninjku

Community: Maningrida

Biography:

Raylene (Rayleen) Bonson is a skilled textile artist known for her intricate lino carvings, which she prints onto a variety of fabric surfaces. Her work is celebrated for its detailed depictions of ancestral stories and ceremonial objects, particularly the lorrkkon (hollow log used in burial ceremonies), kunmadj (dillybag), and mandjabu (conical fishtrap).

In 2019, Raylene's screen print design Wubbunj (Paperbark Canoe) was licensed by Kip & Co, featured in a successful and sold-out homewares collection. In 2021, the same design was used in a collaboration with Jam Factory to create the contemporary furniture piece Love Bench With Back, which was part of the touring exhibition New Exuberance in 2022.

Raylene has been a key artist at Bábbarra Designs since 2012, where she now holds a permanent position as an arts worker. She was mentored by her late mother, Nancy Gununwanga, a founding member of Bábbarra Women’s Centre and a fellow textile artist. Today, Raylene continues the legacy by mentoring and supporting her daughter, Rosanna Bonson, in their shared artistic journey.

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© the artist / art centre