Putting in the Colour: Contemporary Aboriginal Textiles

Aboriginal people have always worked with textiles. In communities all over Australia the weaving of native grasses and fibres has been an important part of the traditional economy. But in Central Australia and the Top End the concept of applying images and designs to the surface of fabric is quite recent. When batik and screenprinting techniques were introduced to Aboriginal communities in the 1970s artists responded eagerly, as they had to the availability of paints and canvas at Papunya, and an entirely new art movement arose. Striking in its freshness and vigour, it drew on the strength of traditional themes to improvise with compelling new interpretations. The Aboriginal textile industry, already grappling with the challenges of geographic isolation, cross-cultural negotiation and a fickle market, has not been spared the dramatic highs and lows of the industry as a while over the last twenty years. But the work has gone on. Skills have developed, techniques have become more complex – and Aboriginal people have continued to create stunning fabrics. In Putting in the Colour we make our way from Ernabella in northern South Australia to the Tiwi Islands of the Top End. We survey a broad sweep of styles encompassing exuberant handpainted silks and subtle batiks. And, most importantly, we hear the voices of the artists and their support staff, mapping their creative journey to the present day and projecting ways forward for their industry and their art.

Written with the assistance of Desart, the association of Central Australian Aboriginal art centers, this publication aims to raise the profile of the art centres in represents to improve equity and access issues, of the artists, ensuring they receive proper exposure and appropriate representation of their art.

“Desart: the Association of Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Centres”.

xvi, 88 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 28 cm. #271021 (Name on prelims)