Bark Painting Bark paintings have a long cultural tradition, believed to extend back many thousands of years. In northern Australia, the walls of bark shelters in the Kimberley and Arnhem Land may well have been painted to convey and illustrate stories in the same way that rock shelters were. Bark painters in the Maningrida Read more…
Coil Basket Coil basketry is a well-established fibre art form in the Maningrida region, especially for women from the Kuninjku, Rembarrnga, Ndjebbana and Nakkara language groups. Artists make coiled baskets of many shapes and sizes, ranging from small round baskets to large oval baby baskets, and made mostly from pandanus Read more…
Coil Basket Coil basketry is a well-established fibre art form in the Maningrida region, especially for women from the Kuninjku, Rembarrnga, Ndjebbana and Nakkara language groups. Artists make coiled baskets of many shapes and sizes, ranging from small round baskets to large oval baby baskets, and made mostly from pandanus Read more…
An-gujechiya (Fish Trap) To make fish traps and fish net fences artists firstly get vine (mirlarl) from the jungle and they put it in water for one night to make it soft. Next they start weaving it; they make rings for the inside to keep the fish trap’s shape. Artists Read more…
Yawkyawk Yawkyawk is a word in the Kunwinjku/Kunwok language of Western Arnhem Land meaning ‘young woman’ and ‘young woman spirit being’. The different groups of Kunwinjku people (one of the Eastern dialect groups call themselves Kuninjku) each have Yawkyawk mythologies, which relate to specific locations in clan estates. These mythologies Read more…
Kungkarrangkalpa (Seven Sisters) ‘Kungkarrangkalpa’ (The Seven Sisters or Pleaides) is significant Tjukurrpa (dreamtime). Its origins you may be familiar with in astronomy and its connection to ‘Wati Nyiru’ (Magic Man or Orion). The roots of this dreaming stems across indigenous groups around the world. The Australian Aboriginal songline is one Read more…
Emus eating quandongs In this painting Dorothy has painted two emus and their chicks eating quandongs or native peach (red dots) from the quandong tree. The birds in the sky have quandongs in their beaks as they also enjoy eating the fruit. Quandongs were a traditionally a significant food source Read more…
Mindirr (Pandanus Bag) Miṉḏirr (dilly bags) are made from gunga (Pandanus spiralis), baḻgurr (kurrajong) and natural bush dyes. The body of the miṉḏirr is made from gunga, and the handles from baḻgurr. Once the gunga fronds and baḻgurr bark have been collected, they are stripped and prepared then boiled with the dyes. Miṉḏirr were used traditionally for every day Read more…
Bathi (Pandanus Basket) Yolŋu weavers of Arnhem Land create utilitarian, ceremonial, and decorative pieces using naturally sourced materials. This Bathi (Pandanus Basket) is made from young Pandanus spiralis leaves, harvested with a wooden hook, stripped of prickles, and dried to create strong, resilient fibres. These fibres are then twisted, coiled, Read more…
Marra (Leaves) Inspired by the work of the prominent basket weaver, the late R. D. This scene depicts the leaf debris as it floats along the running water.