Fibre Works from Gapuwiyak

Gapuwiyak Culture and Arts

9 Dec

2023

2023

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22 Dec

2023

Gapuwiyak artists are best known for their innovative fibre art creations. Their animal sculptures, woven mats and coiled baskets feature especially bright colours using traditional and new techniques that share deep knowledge of plants, country and culture.

Master-weavers make baskets and mats from Gunga (Pandanus Spiralis), which are often dyed with natural bush recipes of roots, tubers and leaves to make the strong colours. Twinning and coiling skills shape the Gunga into Bathi (baskets) and flat mats that are made for the art market. Traditional forms are still used in ceremony. Other traditional forms are being refigured into new artistic expressions.

Mr Cameron and Ms Bidingal passed a few years ago. Mr Cameron worked with his wife Penny Wanapuyngu who would make the basic basket form, Mr Cameron would then reshape them into one of the many animals that feature in songlines and other animals he knew from his time spent in country. The skills of these artists are kept alive by the next generations. Today, Mr Cameron and Penny's daughter, Aleisha continues to make spirited fibre works of camp dogs, animals and birds, and Ms Bidingal’s daughter Djamirri continues to make the fine classic ‘dilly-bag’ form like her mother.
Gapuwiyak Culture and Arts is a remote Art Centre in east Arnhemland. We are owned by our Yolŋu members, have a Yolŋu Board, and employ a Manager and Arts Workers. We support over one hundred artists from Gapuwiyak and surrounding homelands.
Gapuwiyak is a small Yolŋu town in the middle of Miyarrka, a region around Arnhem Bay in East Arnhem Land. There are eighteen clans in this region each with their own interconnected clan estates, songs, patterns and designs.
The Art Centre assists artists to collect and prepare materials, make high-quality art, explore ideas, develop knowledge and skills, exhibit, market and sell their work.

©2023 Gapuwiyak Culture & Arts Aboriginal Corporation

Gapuwiyak Group photo

Installation View

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Artworks

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Artist Profile/s

Tony Raguwanga Cameron

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My name is Tony Cameron. I live in Gapuwiyak Community with my wife and children. I am a fibre sculpture artist and like to make birds, crocodiles, buffalo and lizards, these are woven from pandanus fibre and filled with paperbark, materials we collect from our local area. I work together with my wife Penny to make these animals.

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Aleisha Cameron

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1997

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I have watched my mum and dad make art for as long as I can remember. Now I have skills from my dad and I like making animals from mums baskets.

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Margaret Wanambi

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1937

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Gapuwiyak in East Arnhen Land

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My name is Margaret Marrarrawuy Wanambi. I was born on the 1st of January 1937 I live in Gapuwiyak in East Arnhen Land.

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Joy Gamunbuy Marrkula

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Mary Bidingal

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1950

Donydji outstation

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Ritharngu

My name is Mary Banbalmiya Bidingal. I was born in 1950 in Donydji outstation. My language is Ritharrngu and my clan group is Bidingal. My mother is Yalurr 1 and my father is Dhulutharrama. My older sister taught me to weave at Galiwin’ku, when we used to sit with Mrs Sheppy, Nancy Walinyinawuy, Warranyarr Gelarr and myself. We used to collect pandanus,strip them off and then we used to dry them in the sun. We used to weave in natural colour before, but now we using many different dyes to make basket My totems are the Emu (Wurrpan) and koel cuckoo (Guwak). We used to live at Galiwin’ku before.But we moved to Gapuwiyak. Now I am living at Donydji outstation because that is my homeland.


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Janet Guyala

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1964

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Djambarrpuyngu

Rena Garmundawuy my sister has been teaching me how to work with pandanus and do fibre art

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