377810582393686

Kunwardde dja Karrbarda (Rocks and Yam Vine) – Collection 2 – NFS Susan Marawarr is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. In this design, she has depicted karrbarda (long yam) on her traditional country, the kunwardde (stone country). Read more…

377810582393681

Rrugurrgurda (mud crab) skirt – Collection 2 – NFS This design tells the story of Elizabeth’s homeland – a dreaming place, a good dreaming place with plenty of mud crabs. Elizabeth’s homeland lies east of Maningrida, at the mouth of the Blyth river. This country is known for a large Read more…

377810582393473

Lino Print skirt – Collection 2 – NFS – ARtist unknown This fabric was created using the linocut fabric printing technique, which has been refined at Bábbarra Women’s Centre since it was introduced in the mid-1990s. The Lino tile is carved by the artist at Bábbarra Designs. It is printed on fabric Read more…

377810582393412

Manbirrbbirr (small bush flowers) – Bush dye top – collection 3 NFS In Kuninjku the name manbirrbbirr is used for a number of densely flowering shrubs and small trees including Verticordia cunninghamii, yellow-flowering Austromyrtus species and also Acacia platycarpa which also has dense white flowers. A multicoloured cloth with interlocking designs in a patchwork repeat. This cloth Read more…

377810582393408

Mandjabu Lino print pant – Collection 2 NFS Country to Couture 2016 Kuninjku people traditionally make two sorts of conical fish traps. One is called mandjabu and is made from a strong, durable vine called milil, and a smaller one is called manylik mandjabu, and made from the grass manylik. The mandjabuconical Read more…

377810582393699

Lorrkkon – Susan Marawarr ( Drawstring dress) Collection 2 – NFS The Lorrkkon or hollow-log coffin ceremony is the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony might take place many years after the person has died, and involves the placing of the deceased’s Read more…

377810582393836

Bawáliba (Stone Country Mimih) “Bawáliba is the djang (Dreaming) of my mother and my uncles. They are good spirits, they protect us and they recognise families. They are really tall- just like human beings, like us. They dance late at night and have a lot of hair. In olden times, Read more…

377810582393915

Bah-je (hunting bag) 2007 Linda Gurawana is a Djinang speaker with a long history of working at Babbarra Women’s Centre. In Linda’s language, bah-je describes a woven hunting bag or dilly bag. This three-colour design was created in 2007 and continues to be printed by the centre staff in Maningrida. 

© the artist / art centre