RECOIL: CHANGE AND EXCHANGE IN COILED FIBRE ART
April 26-May 31 2008, FORM Gallery & national tour.
ReCoil: Change and Exchange in Coiled Fibre Art is a new exhibition examining the evolutions and revolutions of contemporary Indigenous fibre art and the re-emergence of coiling as a unique component of fibre practice – with dynamic and thought-provoking results.
Curated by Margie West for Artback Northern Territory Touring and presented in Western Australia for the first time by FORM, ReCoil features a collective of 12 Indigenous and three non-Indigenous artists – including Western Australia’s own Phyliss Rogers from Jigalong in the Pilbara, Kantjupayi Benson from Papulankutja - Blackstone, and Fiona Gavino and Nalda Searles, both Perth-based.
A truly diverse exhibition, ReCoil explores the journey and diversification of coiling, which originated in south-east Australia. From meticulously designed baskets to innovative sculptures - including a version of Kantjupayi Benson’s now-famous Grass Toyota that won the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art award in 2005 – ReCoil is not what you would expect from a fibre exhibition.
The coiling basketry technique was traditionally practiced by Aboriginal people of the lower Murray River and Coorong areas of south-east Australia, and was transplanted by missionaries to Arnhem Land. More recently, coiling was introduced via workshops to the women of the desert regions of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. With popularity and traction akin to the ‘desert paintings’ movement, this new fibre movement has spread rapidly along lines of kinship and via skills-exchanges. Coiling is now practiced throughout the remote regions of the Northern Territory and Western Australia – including the Pilbara, Kalgoorlie, and through the northern regions to Coober Pedy in South Australia. The influence and reach of coiling is expanding at an extraordinary rate.
Highlighting the rich legacy of intercultural exchange that exists behind the coiling movement, the 15 artists represented in ReCoil exemplify the revival and innovative reinterpretations of coilin
Anne Dixon (Alice Springs, NT)
Phyllis Napurrula Williams (Nyirrpi, NT)
Topsy Napurrula Fisher (Nyirrpi, NT)
Niningka Lewis (Ernabella, SA)
Kantjupayi Benson (Blackstone, WA)
Phyliss Rogers (Jigalong, WA)
Banbiyak Mununggurr (Yirrkala, NT)
Robyn Djunginy (Ramingining, NT)
Mavis Ganambarr (Galiwin’ku, NT)
Margaret Djogiba (Gunbalanya, NT)
Nalda Searles (Perth, WA)
Fiona Gavino (Perth, WA)
Philomena Hali (Alice Springs, NT)
Yvonne Koolmatrie (Berri, SA)
Treahna Hamm (Albury, NSW)
The exhibition will tour nationally until late 2009 through Visions of Australia.
Read Dr. Christiane Keller Essay (Download PDF)