Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation

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Billabong Life

Djilpin Arts is a not for profit Aboriginal Corporation that promotes the maintenance, development and transmission of traditional cultural knowledge systems.

For two decades, Djilpin Arts has been working on country with kin and culture, across generations. Our activities are rich in spirit, bringing, healing to the community and linking traditional knowledge with modern enterprise. Our Centre features galleries, museum collection and award winning accommodation for visitors.

Meet local people and artists, learn about traditional life and culture, browse and buy artworks, stay with us and experience seasonal cultural events, tours and immersions.

All artworks are made by local artists living in the community. Artwork reflects the traditional songs and stories that have been passed down through the generations with a contemporary edge: from paintings, prints, fibre art, carvings and dijeridu together to contemporary design prducts and fine woven wire jewellery.

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Little Log with Snake

Djilpin Arts is a not for profit Aboriginal Corporation that promotes the maintenance, development and transmission of traditional cultural knowledge systems.

For two decades, Djilpin Arts has been working on country with kin and culture, across generations. Our activities are rich in spirit, bringing, healing to the community and linking traditional knowledge with modern enterprise. Our Centre features galleries, museum collection and award winning accommodation for visitors.

Meet local people and artists, learn about traditional life and culture, browse and buy artworks, stay with us and experience seasonal cultural events, tours and immersions.

All artworks are made by local artists living in the community. Artwork reflects the traditional songs and stories that have been passed down through the generations with a contemporary edge: from paintings, prints, fibre art, carvings and dijeridu together to contemporary design prducts and fine woven wire jewellery.

Dimensions: 17cm x 7cm

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Crayfish, djaykuŋ & waterlily log

The painting on this log depicts crayfish, djaykuŋ (file snake) and waterlilly.

Djilpin Arts is a not for profit Aboriginal Corporation that promotes the maintenance, development and transmission of traditional cultural knowledge systems.

For two decades, Djilpin Arts has been working on country with kin and culture, across generations. Our activities are rich in spirit, bringing, healing to the community and linking traditional knowledge with modern enterprise. Our Centre features galleries, museum collection and award winning accommodation for visitors.

Meet local people and artists, learn about traditional life and culture, browse and buy artworks, stay with us and experience seasonal cultural events, tours and immersions.

All artworks are made by local artists living in the community. Artwork reflects the traditional songs and stories that have been passed down through the generations with a contemporary edge: from paintings, prints, fibre art, carvings and dijeridu together to contemporary design prducts and fine woven wire jewellery.

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Long Neck Turtle with Bird

Djilpin Arts is a not for profit Aboriginal Corporation that promotes the maintenance, development and transmission of traditional cultural knowledge systems.

For two decades, Djilpin Arts has been working on country with kin and culture, across generations. Our activities are rich in spirit, bringing, healing to the community and linking traditional knowledge with modern enterprise. Our Centre features galleries, museum collection and award winning accommodation for visitors.

Meet local people and artists, learn about traditional life and culture, browse and buy artworks, stay with us and experience seasonal cultural events, tours and immersions.

All artworks are made by local artists living in the community. Artwork reflects the traditional songs and stories that have been passed down through the generations with a contemporary edge: from paintings, prints, fibre art, carvings and dijeridu together to contemporary design prducts and fine woven wire jewellery.

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Plain didjeridu

Didjeridus from this region are made in the West Arnhem style. Called Mago, they’re different and special and follow the tradition made famous by Beswick’s Mago Master, elder David Blanasi.

Ghunmarn didjeridus are sourced on country, and hand cut from Woolybutt trees. Artists travel considerable distances on foot to find the right woolybutt tree naturally hollowed out by termites. Good instruments are hand-cut and taken back to camp to be worked, shaped, sanded, tuned and then finally painted.

These are top quality musical instruments, highly regarded worldwide, and still used in ceremony and performance today. Featuring traditional designs handed painted with a Jarlk grass brush.

 

Most Ghunamrn didjeridus are high pitch D, low pitch D, F, C or G. The longer the dij the lower the pitch, a shorter didj will give a higher sound.

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Plain didjeridu

Didjeridus from this region are made in the West Arnhem style. Called Mago, they’re different and special and follow the tradition made famous by Beswick’s Mago Master, elder David Blanasi.

Ghunmarn didjeridus are sourced on country, and hand cut from Woolybutt trees. Artists travel considerable distances on foot to find the right woolybutt tree naturally hollowed out by termites. Good instruments are hand-cut and taken back to camp to be worked, shaped, sanded, tuned and then finally painted.

These are top quality musical instruments, highly regarded worldwide, and still used in ceremony and performance today. Featuring traditional designs handed painted with a Jarlk grass brush.

 

Most Ghunamrn didjeridus are high pitch D, low pitch D, F, C or G. The longer the dij the lower the pitch, a shorter didj will give a higher sound.

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Plain didjeridu

Didjeridus from this region are made in the West Arnhem style. Called Mago, they’re different and special and follow the tradition made famous by Beswick’s Mago Master, elder David Blanasi.

Ghunmarn didjeridus are sourced on country, and hand cut from Woolybutt trees. Artists travel considerable distances on foot to find the right woolybutt tree naturally hollowed out by termites. Good instruments are hand-cut and taken back to camp to be worked, shaped, sanded, tuned and then finally painted.

These are top quality musical instruments, highly regarded worldwide, and still used in ceremony and performance today. Featuring traditional designs handed painted with a Jarlk grass brush.

 

Most Ghunamrn didjeridus are high pitch D, low pitch D, F, C or G. The longer the dij the lower the pitch, a shorter didj will give a higher sound.

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Woven bracelet

Fibre Art is an ancient Aboriginal women’s craft that is still made today using the same techniques as their ancestors. Making fibre art is labour intensive and much care and fine needlework is required to ensure the finished object is both functional and beautiful. Fibre art from Ghunmarn Culture Centre includes dilly bags, floor mats, bush fans, woven creatures found in the landscape, plants such as yams (bush potato), baskets, place mats, and spirit figures such as mermaids and Mukuys. Natural pandanus fibre (Mukarra), is used to make much of the fibre art produced by the artists of Djilpin Arts. Women collect the pandanus by pulling from the top of the pandanus tree, then stripping and drying the leaves before they are dyed with natural bush colour collected from the Beswick surrounds.

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Woven bracelet

Fibre Art is an ancient Aboriginal women’s craft that is still made today using the same techniques as their ancestors. Making fibre art is labour intensive and much care and fine needlework is required to ensure the finished object is both functional and beautiful. Fibre art from Ghunmarn Culture Centre includes dilly bags, floor mats, bush fans, woven creatures found in the landscape, plants such as yams (bush potato), baskets, place mats, and spirit figures such as mermaids and Mukuys. Natural pandanus fibre (Mukarra), is used to make much of the fibre art produced by the artists of Djilpin Arts. Women collect the pandanus by pulling from the top of the pandanus tree, then stripping and drying the leaves before they are dyed with natural bush colour collected from the Beswick surrounds.

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Clapsticks

Wood carving has always been part of Aboriginal culture. Men carved wood for many purposes – tools for hunting or gathering food, axes and knives for building shelters, spears and clubs for protection of their lives and territory, objects for ceremony and to mark sacred sites.

Artists source the timber on country, walking from tree to tree to find the right piece for the desired functional outcome. Once found, it is cut and then brought back to camp to be worked, shaped, sanded and finally finished.

Clapsticks are used in traditional ceremony and dance as a percussion instrument to accompany Mago (didjeridu). Denser woods such as Ironwood or Kerosene wood are preferred due to their crisper clap sound. Clapsticks can be left raw or painted and decorated. Straight timber from younger trees is preferred as it requires less work to make functional.