Floating life: contemporary Aboriginal fibre art

47 Many works truly surprise and delight by jumping the fences of tradition to create eclectic combinations of the old and the new. The woven human- like sculptures representing ancestral beings are examples of this, created by a rising generation of younger Arnhem Land women artists to inspire others, and to bring an innovative form of fibre art to the art market. Lena Yarinkura (Kune/Rembarrnga people) is known for her woven yawkyawk sculptures, made from paperbark, feather, fibre, natural pigments and pandanus. Marina Murdilnga and Anniebell Marrngamarrnga (both of the Kuninjku people) create yawkyawks as geometric elongated shapes with mermaid-shaped bodies in combinations of naturally coloured fibres. Works by women artists who transfer their knowledge of fibre weaving to paintings on canvas, producing vibrantly coloured schema of magnified woven patterns, also delight viewers. Regina Wilson’s (Ngangikurrungurr people) paintings of Warrgarri (String bag stitch) 2003 and Syaw (Fish net) 2004 are two such stunning works. Fibre works created for the art market often feature innovative uses of colour. Traditionally, women used ochres and some natural dyes introduced by Macassan fishermen, but from the 1930s and 1940s they adopted new practices brought by Pacific Islander mission staff. Like scientists working for Western textile manufacturers, the women have experimented with new formulas and created their own expanding palettes of colours and tones that vary according to the regional and seasonal availability of local plants. For example, reddish-purple hues created from bloodroot have become a trademark characteristic of work from Western Arnhem Land; and some artists are now using synthetic dyes for their work. A brilliant explosion of colour has come from Kowanyama women Clara, Margaret, Doreen and Mynor Yam of Cape York Peninsula. They belong to a continuous tradition of using local fibres such as the cabbage palm to make life essentials, including baskets, string bags, shelters, utensils for preparing food and body adornments. Now, they are combining traditional weave patterns with natural and synthetic fibres and dye colours. A little-known etymological meaning of beauty is to ‘be of one’s hour’. This sense of the word is certainly applicable to ‘Floating Life’, which brings together decades of dialogues and actions relating to Aboriginal art. It has been a long saga, from artefact to art. Aboriginal works once deemed ethnographic objects now take their rightful place as works of art in galleries around the world. Craft and women’s work have now shifted to the high end of the art market, lobbied for by the craft movement, feminists, Aboriginal art centres encouraging innovation and enthusiastic women fibre artists. Aboriginal artists have regained control of their designs appropriated by commercial interests, following political pressure exerted from the 1950s onwards. Urban artists, too, have continued to struggle for the significance of their creative work to be acknowledged. And the public has a growing recognition and respect for Aboriginal knowledge, philosophies and spiritual beliefs. This takes us full circle. Now, we stand before Garak, the Universe 2004 by Gulumbu Yunupingu (Gumatj/Rrakpala people). Her meditations on the infinite universe made from earth-bound pigments, bark and wood are ignited by the artist’s awareness of the known and her imaginings of the unknown. In her work, Yunupingu sees the patterns of stars and planets that have ensured the survival of her people for millennia. There are supernatural energies that can be called forth through ceremony to evoke creation powers that maintain the world — this universe is a long way from the cold, mechanical vision created by Western science. Owen Yalandja Kuninjku people NT b.1962 Three yawkyawks from Barrihdjowkeng 1995 Natural pigments on bark 55 x 22cm (each, irreg.) Acc. 1996.105a–c Purchased 1996 with a special allocation from the Queensland Government. Celebrating the Queensland Art Gallery’s Centenary 1895–1995 © Owen Yalandja 1995. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney, 2009 Anniebell Marrngamarrnga Kuninjku people NT b.1968 Yawkyawk spirit (Pregnant with twins) 2007 Looped pandanus palm leaf, cane, bark fibre string, with natural dyes 266 x 67 x 2cm Acc. 2007.253 Purchased 2007. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation