Ebb & Flow, 2018, 26-38cm x 140-203cm. Silk, organic cotton, Merino wool, thread. Natural Dye: Grey and red mangrove bark.
‘Ebb and Flow’ is a series of five long pieces of cloth, each about 35 x 140cm. They are a culmination of the act of slowly opening a window of knowledge over twelve months, with a few major catalysts providing fundamental points of stimulus and inspiration. The series honours my local water way, the Cooks River in the south of Sydney through the language of textiles, natural dye and slow stitch.
The work acknowledges the natural significance our water-ways upon our local communities. Cooks River, despite the erasure of its traditional name, is a site rich with Aboriginal history. While it has the reputation of a polluted waterway, pockets of mangrove, salt-marsh, bird-life and a threatened species of frog, persist. The subtle colours of Ebb & Flow are derived from grey mangrove bark harvested during community working bees at Cooks River, and from red mangrove bark from the banks of Fitzroy Crossing River, WA.
The artist wishes to acknowledge Ivy Nargoodah from Fitzroy Crossing, who generously passed on her knowledge of red mangrove dye and her shibori techniques during a workshop in 2017.
This work also acknowledges the Wangal clan of the Eora nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which I work and am inspired by. I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I acknowledge that this land has long been a place of teaching, learning, and creating.
‘Ebb and Flow’ was part of ‘Local Colour: Experiments in Nature’, UNSW Galleries, 28 July - 15 September, 2018.
Image Credit: 1 & 2. Silversalt Photography. Remaining images by the artist.
The Story of Ebb & Flow
Making textiles for me is a way to connect with place, people, community, history and identity. The joy of developing new work is how the process can open new experiences and opportunities to learn. It is almost like a window, swathed in a heavy curtain, that is suddenly drawn and flung open, offering an entirely new view, light streaming in and everything glowing.
I have long had an interest in my local water-way, The Cooks River. This is the place I walk and experience nature. I often wondered about its history beyond white settlement and the decades of mistreatment. The opportunity to respond to the river through textiles led me on a journey of deeper understanding of this water-way. I’m beginning to understand that making work is my approach to learning as it brings together research in the form of reading, talking, looking, hearing and being in a space. The result is a deeper connection to my local area, and a greater respect for place.
I had the opportunity to learn from Ivy Nargoodah from Fitzroy Crossing, who generously passed on her knowledge of red mangrove dye and her shibori techniques during a workshop in 2017. This experience led me to work with a volunteer group planting and clearing The Cooks River, which is how I sourced the local grey mangrove. The experiments with this type of mangrove led to very little colour compared to the red mangrove, but used together, created much brighter tones.
Each length in the series reflects upon the patterning and textures of the river and it’s surrounds. Beneath these visual and tactile studies is a deeper connection to this site. As a white woman living on stolen land, I want to create work that respects the traditional owners and their custodianship of the land that is shared with us so generously.