Narrbong, 2019, Lorraine Connelly-Northey
Burnt steel wire
Provenance: Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.
Exhibited: Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney 2019.
Informed by both her Western and Waradgerie heritage, Lorraine Connelly-Northey transforms found materials into sculptural works. Materials, such as wire and corrugated iron, associated with European settlement and industrialisation, are sculpted using the Indigenous weaving techniques of her country. She explores the dynamism, evolution and progression of her country and heritage (1).
Both traditionally and continually used by the Waradgerie people, Narrbong-galang are fibre bags used to collect, transport and care for goods. The bags are hand-weaved by Connelly-Northey using reclaimed and weathered materials including rusted tin, barbed wire and steel pipe. Her works carry both their complex material and cultural history with the representation of both pre- and post-colonial Australia (2).