Manggan: gather, gathers, gathering
This is the first national touring exhibition of contemporary works by award-winning artists from the Girringun Aboriginal Arts Centre, Cardwell, QLD.
Manggan – gather, gathers, gathering exhibition was developed as a partnership between the Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Queensland, and the South Australian Museum (SAM), Adelaide, presenting Aboriginal rainforest art and culture from the Girringun region of Far North Queensland (FNQ), cultural material from the SAM collections and new work created by Aboriginal artists responding to the past in the present.
The exhibition includes films, photographs, weaving (bicornual baskets – Jawun, Mindi, Wungarr and traditional forms made with contemporary materials), and ceramics (Bagu fire-making tools and basket forms) by 19 internationally renowned artists from the Girringun area, together with artefacts (Bagu,baskets, fish poison) from the South Australian Museum collection.Connection to country and traditional culture is at the core of this exhibition, which is aimed at growing awareness of arts practice unique to this group of Aboriginal people in the wet and dry tropics region of FNQ.
The Girringun Aboriginal Corporation represents nine tribal groups in FNQ – the Nywaigi, Gugu Badhun,Warrgamay, Warungnu, Bandjin, Girramay, Gulnay, Jirrbal and Djiru people. This area extends roughly south from El Arish to Rollingstone, south west to the Clarke River, north to the Mission Beach area, west to Ravenshoe and east to include Hinchinbrook and the Family Group Islands.
This is a region of spectacular landscapes incorporating vast areas of pristine rainforest canopy and wet/dry sclerophyll forests stretching to the coast and sections of the Great Barrier Reef. Reaching upwards out of the lush rainforest are impressive mountain ranges and stunning rock formations. The region features countless rivers, streams, waterfalls, gorges and dense wetlands with mangrove eco systems and well-watered open savannah plains in the rainforest shadow of the Great Dividing Range.
Manggan – gather, gathers, gathering is a travelling exhibition in partnership between Girringun Aborginal Art Centre, the South Australian Museum, and toured by Museums & Galleries Queensland. This exhibition is supported by the Visions regional touring program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to cultural material for all Australians. It is supported through the Australian Government’s Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support program and the Queensland Government; and proudly sponsored by Conrad Gargett, Urban Art Projects and TED.
Image credit: Group of 3 Bagu by Emily Murray, Theresa Beeron, Ninney Murray. Various sizes. Courtesy of Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre
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