Kulabbarl (Billabong)

9 July to 1 Aug

This exhibition presents a range of works made by artists, weavers and screen print designers at Injalak Arts, inspired by the Gunbalanya billabong that lies metres behind the Art Centre. It is a site intricately woven into the fabric of Gunbalanya, a source of sustenance and creativity.

The billabong is symbolic of the fertility of western Arnhem Land. Little fish are the as-yet-unborn spirits of people, and the billabong is where the souls of the deceased return after they pass away. Artists at Injalak often have strong connections to country that are evident in the subjects of their work.

Billabongs around western Arnhem Land teem with a great diversity of plants and aquatic creatures, from water lilies to estuarine crocodiles, in an intricate system of life forces that have sustained bininj since time began. Painting by bininj in ancient rock art galleries between the billabongs in western Arnhem Land show the abundance left by ancestral beings for future generations. Internal elements of animals such as organs, bones, muscles, fatty and interstitial tissues of animals are depicted in what has been named x-ray style, showing the intimate knowledge of animals that artists possess.

This exhibition features works on bark, paper, woven fibre works as well as screen print designs.

 

Image: Glen Namundja, Namarnkol (Barramundi), 2017, ochre on arches paper.

 

Tactile Arts Gallery

19 Conacher St, The Gardens NT

Gallery hours: Tuesday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm