Wagari: Dabiyil, Biram – Vessel: water and sky

  • Artists: Sonja Carmichael, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Freja Carmichael
  • Medium: Installation
  • Project Type: Commissioned Project
  • Neighbourhood: Etobicoke

Wagari: Dabiyil, Biram – Vessel: water and sky is a collaborative large-scale cyanotype textile featuring imagery of handwoven forms and string and found objects.

Location

19 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr

  • Address: 19 Colonel Samuel Smith Park
  • Physical Access: Wheelchair accessible
  • Indoors/Outdoors: Outdoors
  • Schedule: October 2 to 10. Only vinyl component extended and viewable all day and night.
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The Project

Wagari: Dabiyil, Biram – Vessel: water and sky is a collaborative large-scale cyanotype textile featuring imagery of handwoven forms and string and found objects. As a family of Quandamooka women, weaving has become our intergenerational expression of saltwater identity and culture. This work represents woven forms that continue knowledge of past generations and the stories and experiences of today. The woven forms include the use of discarded netting and materials that wash ashore on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) after drifting in the ocean. Collecting and weaving with this marine debris helps protect dabiyil as an act of caring for saltwater Country and kin. The collection of woven forms and objects are used to create the cyanotype. The process of cyanotype records the shape of the woven elements and materials when they are placed on the textile surface and exposed to UV light and washed in water and oxidize. This result creates deep blue imagery with the memory and impression of the objects. The blue cyanotype pigment reflects the rich colour of the Quandamooka seas. The layering of woven forms and found objects onto the cyanotype is a metaphoric expression of stories, experiences and histories that are embedded within sands, land, water, and sky of Quandamooka country, and are carried in the vessels of Quandamooka weaving.

The Artists

Sonja, Elisa and Freja Carmichael are Quandamooka women and descendants of the Ngugi people from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), Queensland, Australia. They are a family of artists and curators, and often work collaboratively to revive, nurture, and preserve cultural knowledge, practices and saltwater identity. The Carmichaels draw inspiration from the beauty of nature and create work sourced or made from the land and sea, celebrating the ongoing richness of Country and ancestral memory embodied in living materials.

Acknowledgements

  • Exhibition Sponsor

Onespace Gallery.