Today is a good day for drag net down the beach. I love to wear this dress cause it reminds me of dragging net to catch fish for dinner.
Art Centre notes: The artwork is a ‘pochoir’ print, or monotype, printed on BFK Rives paper 100% cotton rag with strong archival properties. Signed by the artist on the front.
Printer: Paula Savage
Print Assistant: Dian Darmansjah
All Island ladies love to show off with there dress and walk around.
The artwork is a ‘pochoir’ print, or monotype, printed on BFK Rives paper (100% cotton rag with strong archival properties). Signed by the artist on the front.
Printer: Paula Savage
Print Assistant: Dian Darmansjah
Gath in my language means low tide. The yellow for the sand and you can also see the reef bar where there’s a lot of stone fish swimming around.
Art Centre notes: The artwork is a ‘pochoir’ print, or monotype, printed on BFK Rives paper 100% cotton rag with strong archival properties. Signed by the artist on the front.
Printer: Paula Savage
Print Assistant: Dian Darmnsjah
Small island top looks like smalll island dress rolled up in dark blue ink used to put through the press. Now it looks like X-ray vision of the small top, I like it!
Art Centre notes: The artwork is a ‘pochoir’ print, or monotype, printed on BFK Rives paper 100% cotton rag with strong archival properties. Signed by the artist on the front.
Printer: Paula Savage
Print Assistant: Dian Darmansjah
Walking to village through bushes seeing all kind of thongs on muddy tracks.
Art Centre notes: The artwork is a ‘pochoir’ print, or monotype, printed on BFK Rives paper 100% cotton rag with strong archival properties. Signed by the artist on the front.
Printer: Paula Savage
Print Assistant: Dian Darmansjah
This design depicts the story of the artist’s ancestral dreaming, the Djomi fresh water spirit mermaid.
The Djomi figure is a mermaid like spirit with fish tail that lives in the fresh water stream that flows out to the sea cliff near Maningrida. Djomi is a known to be a very powerful fertility symbol.
‘If you go there you can get pregnant easily. Djomi has babies, and they can give others babies too. The Djomi spirit is so powerful, that women can end up with multiple babies at once, twins or sometimes even more. The Djomi spirits lay eggs near the sacred freshwater stream in Maningrida. Inside the eggs are human babies as well as young Djomi.
Men do not go near that swamp, because Djomi is so powerful that men might get pregnant there too. So men, they are too scared of that Djomi. When we visit the Djomi freshwater spring, we can hear young Djomi crying. They sound like normal babies crying, those Djomi spirits. They are looking for a mother.
This Djomi is my dreaming, I got permission from my djunguys to paint this Djomi design. For me I always ask my djunguy permission to paint, because that is our cultural way.
This design also depicts the fresh water lily leaves, and seaweed from the base of the sea floor.
A design by emerging textile designer, Charmaine Pascoe.
‘My Gurrpurdu (diving bird) was white. She flew from Gan Gan to Gapuwiyak and then to Yathalamarra. And then she flew to Gartji.
At Gartji two fresh water seaweed shoots, one long and one short were trying to keep diving bird down. They were saying, “Don’t go away you belong to this country”. Diving bird said “No! I’m going to travel around to other country”. She was flapping her wings and then those two seaweed shoots let her go.
Then diving bird flew to make water hole at Gamurra Gu-yurra. She tasted the water but it was salty not fresh water. Then she put her poo like white clay on the ground at Gamurra Gu-yurra. The while clay was used for painting, funerals and ceremonies.
Then she continued to fly to Ji-balbal where she put the white clay again and then from Ji-balbal she dived underwater to Gochan Jiny-jirra. When she got there she got out of the water and was flapping her wings. At the same time she was singing. She was using her wings to dry out so that she could fly to Nangak.’ Charmaine Pascoe 2020
‘Minmanyarr is the wetlands area before Mumeka, my homeland. There are always a lot of birds there, including this Kandji (Jabiru). The Kandji belongs to the Yirridja moiety, so I call this bird mother. They are looking for fish and turtle in the billabong area, in the mud. There is also wayuk (water lily) in this design, the flowers can be pink, white or yellow. The bottom part with the roots we call bulparr. Wayuk is good manme (food). We eat the yellow seedpods inside.’ Deborah Wurrkidj
This design tells the story of Saratoga dreaming, a freshwater fish that swims on the edge of creeks and rivers. This design is the Saratoga dreaming from the Mularra songline. Where the Saratoga we call Murdulngu, Danguny travelled from Malmyangarnak billabong to Mirrigatja.
This Billabong was owned by Murdulngu (Saratoga) before the water was taken over by shark Barlangu he came all the way from east to north then to west. He was travelling when that water level was high he went up the stream but he couldn’t make it. This Barlangu came from Murruggun clan but really this shark came from long way all the way south. This story is connected through Mularra songline it represents many clans.
With permission from clan elders, Carol is able to pass on this family knowledge through her passion in textile and art.
‘I am proud of my first design, I want to keep this design for future, for my children and grandchildren so they remember this story, this story is a big part of the mularra songline’ Carol Liyawanga Campion
A two colour screen print design from 2022. Jay’s first large format design to join the Bábbarra Designs Collection.
‘This is my first one, I’m really happy, I’m proud. It’s just a songline for everybody. This story is from my great great grandfather on my fathers side. The songline was made by my second father. The mimihs tell the story. The painting took a long time, a few weeks to finish.’ Jay Jurrupula Rostron
‘Bini-murreko means two brothers – big brother and little brother.
Two brothers were really strong leaders and good hunters, sharing animals with different tribes.
With those different tribe there were jealousy going on.
Little brother went walkabout and heard the different tribe was talking about his tribe.
They said ngarribin manre djed-djedme bokko
Meaning: will make spear for them
Ngarrbin danj-bun, ngarrbinbun
Meaning: will spear them kill them
little brother turn around went back tell his brother
Namurre bokko kadi marne djed-djedme Karre wonens, kardi-djal danjbun
Meaning: they making spear for us, they gonna spear us
Couple of months they saw different tribe
They changed their attitude
They been bringing lots of animals to them and start asking for women
And that tribe realise that’s how those brothers died.
They kill them
This Why? They got jealous because two brothers was a good hunter.
This story written on the rock art and it stays forever.’