Dhoeyiw Nu Ulaik Abutha Li

Size: Paper SIze: H750mm xW420mm, Image Size: H493mm x W420mm

Medium: Linocut

$890.00 (Incl GST)

Happy Dance with Basket

In my culture some of our women have a quality that we call eggi – a primal silliness or sense of fun that we express through ‘crazy’ dances, whether at the birth of a child or at weddings, initiations or ceremony.

Eggi mimics or embodies our totems – a bit like shape-shifting, and it reminds us that we are more than human, that we are connected to plants and animals too. In this work the woman dances with her abutha li (basket), celebrating the coming of the rains and the season of growth and encouraging the madhubal (garden spirits) to ensure a productive harvest.

The marks behind her are made at low tide, and tell us that we have a while to wait until the new spirit will be born.

Matilda Nona

2024