Women With Clever Hands

Overview

Weaving isn't always something that fills modern art enthusiasts with a shot of adrenaline. Weaving gets recognition from classical forebears and local excursions, but it's not usually sitting at the centre of attention. Freshly mounted at the Object Gallery Women With Clever Hands collects weaving by women from Gapuwiyak, in Arnhem Land. Originally shown at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, this show is making its Sydney debut. While the text and explanatory pieces around the gallery are focused on the skilled processes, the hooks and whorls of the weaving processes, as a visitor this exhibitions is all about colour. Bean reds, cyanide greens and glorious, earthy oranges that burn along the back wall. The textures and colours are most familiar from seeds and beans, to the urban eye, but they come straight from the Territory.

Mixed in with the Smarties yellow of Lucy Malirrimurruwuy Wanapuyngu's Tubular Basket Mindirr 2009 are beetroot purples dyed from a native plum tree. Margaret Ngangiyawuy Guyula's string bags own emo-like stripes, their little loops hung in red, brown and beige like soft links of chain.

Stars of the show are the weaved mats by Ruby Gubiyarrawuy Guyula, Patsy Mamukan Bidingal, Nancy Walinyinawuy Guyula, and others, which are hung across the back wall. They're woven with earthy, reddy-orange fibres, making a wall of fringed, orange suns. The layers of blue and grey mixed in make the effect stronger. Upstairs in the tiny project gallery are necklaces (beaded subtle, elegant or chunky), more mats and a pair of spirit figure "dolly dollys".

It's simple stuff, but simple things carry weight. The colours are strong, and together these circles, stripes and layers of art leave you wondering why you don't pay more attention to everyday weavings, and the craft behind them.

Images: Baskets (batjik) by Margaret Ngangiyawuy and Joyce Milpuna. Photos by Leise Knowles.