Burnie Arts Centre - "Artcade"
Milaythina (Country)
Country is the land, seas, waterways and skies and all aspects of Country are connected – no one is more important. Country is our Lifeworld. If one part of Country is not healthy, then that affects all Country – including her people. We talk to Country; introduce ourselves when we enter the Country of other peoples... Language comes from Country and culture is determined by Country.
Pakana Elder, Theresa Sainty
For Pakana (Tasmanian Aboriginal) people, Country is more than land. More than a commodity to be bought and sold. Elder Jim Everett- puralia meenamatta explains, ‘Country is us, and we are Country’, a living entity.
In archaeological terms, Lutruwita (Tasmania) has been the home of Pakana people for more than 40,000 years. Pakana spiritual beliefs, however, tell us Aboriginal people have been here forever; since Muyini the great star-being took some earth up into the sky and created Palawa, the first Ancestor. These beliefs connect land Country, sky Country, sea Country, Ancestors and kin through a relational ecosystem that puralia meenamatta has come to term the ‘All-Life of Country’.
Pataway (Burnie) and its surrounds was part of the traditional homelands of the Pirinilaplu people of the northern nation. Numerous cultural sites are still evident in the landscape, including living sites (middens), hunting grounds shaped by firestick burning practices, tidal fish traps built out of rock, cave sites, stone and ochre quarries and knapped stone artefacts. These are tangible connections to Lutruwita’s ancient past. This Country holds a deep history that extends back thousands of generations and continues today through the cultural practices, artistic expressions, stories, song, dance and bloodlines of the Pakana community today.
It is this belonging that is revealed through the artworks featured in the new Burnie Cultural Centre’s Artcade. Each of the artists share their deep relationship with community, Country and culture. They share stories of connection and reconnection, cultural strength, responsibility and relationality. They share what it means to be part of the ‘All-Life of Country’; what it is to be Pakana.
Curated by Dr Zoe Rimmer
www.milangkani.com.au
Bay 1
Artist: Karen Smart
Title: Circle of Connection
Statement: We as Indigenous people are connected together worldwide from Land to Sea. We come from Country, nourish ourselves and grow from Country, care for Country then return to Country. This is our Circle of Connection.
About the Artist: Karen Smart/Wyatt is a proud Truwulway woman with strong family links to Flinders Island, Cape Barren Island and the East Coast of Tasmania. Karen has lived on the north-west coast of Lutruwita (Tasmania) her whole life. As a muka luna (saltwater woman) Karen loves spending as much time at the beach as possible. Karen has been creating art since she was young. Whilst mostly focusing on drawing, her creative journey has developed into a love for pastels and paint. For Karen, creating art is a way to express her thoughts, feelings, love for Country, her cultural connections and life story.
Bay 2
Artist: Liz Tew
Title: Payawina – Low Tide
Statement: This drawing was inspired by muka (the sea) and a tiny piece of coral that I picked up off the beach at low tide on Flinders Island. A few years ago, I spent a week on Flinders with Elders and other Community members immersed in milaythina muka (Sea Country), shell collecting, sharing of cultural knowledges and family stories. I took this little piece of coral home as a reminder of the time I spent on the Island, and the knowledge that was shared with me, and my cultural responsibilities to ensure that our cultural practices and stories are handed down within my family.
About the Artist: Liz Tew is a Pakana, Tasmanian Aboriginal artist, who lives in Nipaluna (Hobart). Liz is a descendant of Fanny Smith, the Aboriginal matriarch whose mother’s Country was Layrapinthi (country at Musselroe Bay). Liz’s art focuses on her connections to culture and Country, exploring the relationality and ancestral stories told between all living things, people, the land, the sea and sky. Inspired by the miniscule details found in Country, Liz creates detailed and intricate line drawings by hand and through printmaking. Liz has been part of the Tasmanian Aboriginal collective at the Darwin Art Fair Walantanalinany Palingina and is also a featured artist on the Blackspace Creative Arts and Cultural Hub website. She has recently been commissioned to produce a large-scale work for the Jordan River Farm School.
https://www.blackspacecreative.com.au/
Bay 3
Artist: Cheryl Rose
Title: Capturing its Essence
Statement:
“Pathways journeys explore.
Remnants seen
Presence etched
Connection
sustained continuing
Leaves small,
Foliage light green turns red
Grassland plains
Winding trails
Limpets adorn
Intertidal rocky shores
Linger the wind blows
Adorns coastal
Presence etched”
About the Artist: Cheryl Rose is a Palawa (Truwulway) woman, based in Pataway (Burnie) in Lutruwita (Tasmania). As a multi-media artist Cheryl’s work is inspired by, and responds to the coastal lands, sky and sea that surrounds her. Her work endeavours to reflect her relationship with the north-west region capturing all that is contained within, from rockpools to foliage on the turn, through intimate and intricate studies of her ‘place’. Cheryl’s work is deeply informed by her community, culture and Country.
Bay 4
Artist: Allan Mansell
Title: Echidna Courtship - Beginning of a Train; A Train of Two; A Train of Three
Statement: The echidna (trimanya) is interconnected with my practice, Black Ant Art, as ants form the main part of an echidna’s diet. Growing up and playing in the bush as a child and then later as an adult travelling through Country, echidnas were an intriguing sight to observe. The echidna is an iconic monotreme, being just one of two monotremes in the world, the other the platypus also in Australia. Trimanya (echidna) and their courtship ritual of commitment and determination is what inspired this series of work. The female releases a strong scent that is irresistible to male echidnas who then form a line and follow behind her, known as ‘echidna love train’.
About the Artist: Allan Mansell is a proud First Nations man of Lutruwita and a celebrated Tasmanian Aboriginal artist. His family hails directly from the survivors of the British invasion, who had inhabited the islands of the Furneaux Group in the Bass Strait. As a child, Allan was taken from his family by government authorities and became part of the stolen generation. On leaving the “homes” Allan had many varied jobs. He spent some years on fishing boats around the West Coast of Lutruwita (Tasmania), later working for Parks and Wildlife to protect Country. Allan later settled on Bruny Island, building a home out of the bush and completing a Fine Arts Degree.
Allan now teaches print making and Cultural Understandings for schools, festivals and community groups. Allan’s work has been exhibited widely and has been sold all over the world, with pieces hanging in prestigious venues in Europe and America. One of Allan’s most important commissions was for the Embassy for the Kingdom of the Netherlands which was subsequently presented to the then Prince and Princess of the Netherlands. Allan’s visual vocabulary takes on a very specific style and aura that encompasses the land, the flora and fauna around him – as though he holds a genetic memory of the past.
www.blackantart.com.au
Bay 5
Artist: Caleb Nichols-Mansell
Title: My Body is Country, My Blood is Salt Water
Statement: This artwork was developed in response to a series of works I produced based on my relationship to land and sea Country. I spent weeks exploring Country around Pinmatik (Rocky Cape) on the northwest coast, resulting in this piece which incorporates photography, text and illustrations. As Tasmanian Aboriginal people, our spirit is inextricably connected to the elements – we come from Country and we return to Country – and I hope this is translated through the use of text and the depth of the image and artwork. This work was developed further through a commission with Yirramboi that saw the text become a large bright green, neon sign for their 2023 festival in Naarm (Melbourne).
About the Artist: Caleb Nichols-Mansell is a mixed media artist and the Founder of Blackspace Creative Arts and Cultural Hub. Based in Pataway (Burnie) he is a proud Tasmanian Aboriginal man with deep connections to Country, community, culture, and spirit which all inform his practice and process as an artist and leader. Caleb has an extensive portfolio in graphic design and digital art and has been commissioned by several leading institutions and organisations both within the state and nationally. Stepping outside of his comfort zone, he is beginning to experiment with large scale festival and public art installations as well as site responsive works which have been commissioned by Yirramboi, Dark Mofo and Junction Arts Festival so far.
Delving into and shining light on the politics of identity, land, and cultural heritage Caleb’s artwork aims to generate conversation and evoke deep thinking whilst providing viewers with an intimate look at what it means to be a Tasmanian Aboriginal man in modern day Lutruwita (Tasmania).
https://www.calebnicholsmansell.com.au/
Bay 6
Artist: Louise Daniels
Title: Windblown
Statement: Lit by the orange glow of a winter afternoon, this stand of melaleucas grows along the coast by Bass Strait. Blown and bent by the force of the Roaring Forties, their slender trunks and limbs are beautifully twisted; yielding, yet unbroken in the strong winds.
These trees were a rich resource for the old people of Lutruwita – soft paperbark to line a baby’s coolamon, tea tree oil for its healing properties, and pollen for the native bees and their honey. They remain valued by the Palawa today and represent many characteristics of our people. We have been battered by a most brutal history and suffered enormous loss. Yet we survive, not without damage, but ultimately strong, adaptable and resilient.
About the Artist: Born and raised in Ulverstone, Louise Daniels is a Palawa Truwulway woman who grew up in a large, creative family where someone was always making something. She has a lifelong interest in the visual arts and has enjoyed the opportunity to focus on art studies and practice over the past eighteen years. Louise is a multi-media artist whose practice includes landscape paintings, charcoal and mixed media drawings, and figurative wire sculpture. Over the past decade she has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions and been a selected finalist in many state and national art awards. Her works are held in private and government collections in both Australia and overseas, including the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Central Coast Council Tasmania, and the Tasmanian Department of Health.
Louise holds a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts (Honours) Degree and a Master’s Degree in Education Studies from the University of Tasmania. She is also a published researcher, and many of her recent studies and artworks explore and re-present stories of her Palawa Ancestors who endured the brutal colonisation of Lutruwita. Her landscape paintings celebrate the character and beauty of her beloved Lutruwita (Tasmania), especially the Country around the north-west. She has a great love of tea trees, and these feature often in her work.
https://danielsvisualarts.com/
Bay 7
Artist: Janice Ross
Title: Laraturunawn/Sundown Point (Dual Naming Gazetted: 2016)
Statement: As the warmth of the sun rejuvenates our spirits, and the smell of saltwater spray refreshes our skin, it is the patterning within the rock speaking gently from Country that connects us with our Ancestors, sharing a deep and ancient story. This artwork is part of a series named Pakana ningina milaythina nayri manta manta, which translates to: Tasmanian Aboriginal People have cared for and protected our Country for a very long time. The original watercolour painting Laraturunawn /Sundown Point (Dual Naming Gazetted: 2016) is part of 5 triptych sets that celebrate Tasmanian Aboriginal Dual Naming and shares our story of place at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Through this work, I reflect upon the times my family and Community have walked together to the rock petroglyphs at Laraturunawn /Sundown Point, we are reminded of the lack of understanding by others, as they walk past or drive off road vehicles over our cultural living sites with no consideration of our ancient communications on rock. We will continue to protect, for many more future generations, the very few and fading inscriptions from being corrupted by vandalism and the threat of erosive north-western weather in Lutruwita (Tasmania).
About the Artist: Janice Ross is a proud Pakana Truwulway woman, artist and cultural facilitator. Her Maynard Lowery families, the Moon Bird people of the Bass Strait Islands, are direct descendants of the Sealers and Ancestor Manalakina (Manalargenna) Chief Warrior of the Truwulway people of north-east Lutruwita (Tasmania). Janice states that she ‘visualises as a Tasmanian Aboriginal artist to reveal the milaythina Pakana cultural landscape through my eyes, and my community’s eyes, the connections we have with Country and the experiences that we continue together. We are Country and Country is us.’ Through her art, Country shares its story with us. Janice’s work has found a home in numerous private collections and was featured in the taypani milaythina-tu: Return to Country exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and which now takes her to present and share her work in London for ‘Seeing Truth in Museums’. Her work has also been commissioned by the Tasmanian Department of Health for a permanent display at the Royal Hobart Hospital in Nipaluna (Hobart), and by the Old Woolstore Hotel for their new Palawa interpretive native garden.
Bay 8
Artist: Bonnie Starick
Title: Memories
Statement: This artwork is for my Mum, Tanya Harper. I have been blessed to have grown up surrounded by many luna rrala (strong women), who helped me grow and learn about my culture and cultural practices, but my Mum has given me so much knowledge about how we belong to our Community and how we live with our Sea and Country. Some of my favourite memories are watching her now teaching my children, showing them what it means to be Pakana and teaching them like she taught me.
This artwork depicts abalone shells, marina shells, kelp and water. I wanted the images in the work to reflect my culture through my knowledge of food and medicinal sources found in the sea and on the land, as well as the cultural practices I know such as shell stringing and kelp work. Lastly, I wanted it to be brought together with water, being a Pakana woman from a long line of coastal families, I wanted to recognise this in my artwork.
About the Artist: Bonnie Starick is a Pakana woman of the Truwulway nation from the Country of Tebrakunna. Her bloodlines come from a long line of luna rrala (strong women); her grandmothers Emmerenna, Wathikawitja and Elizabeth Maynard. She has a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts and a strong passion for First Nations arts and culture. Bonnie dedicates much of her time to creating and supporting opportunities to give back to her Community through the arts, cultural practices and education. Although Bonnie enjoys many aspects of the arts, her passion is the visual arts, textiles and project management. One of Bonnie’s yearly highlights is co-ordinating and curating the Walantanalinany Palingina arts and cultural practices stall at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, which she has been involved in since 2018. Recently Bonnie exhibited in the taypani milaythina-tu: Return to Country exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery with Blak Enough, which explored her identity as a light skinned Blak woman, through a large-scale installation. In 2023 she curated her first exhibition For the Elders held at RANT Arts highlighting some of Lutruwita (Tasmania’s) First Nation artists. Bonnie’s designs have been commissioned by local organisations and, recently she has been developing her digital designs for prints and textiles, as well as painting, printing and drawing on canvases and textiles. Bonnie was granted funding from Arts Tasmania to support her most recent project called Pakana Textile & Upcycling by Rina Designs, launched at FIRST SPACE, Sawtooth ARI Gallery.
https://palawahub.com.au/business/rina-designs-by-bonnie-starick/