Feathers float – so do clouds – and dreams. Winding a figure 8 into eternity.
-Djon Mundine, Curator
Feathers Float
is the name of an exhibition used to mark a gathering – between Lita Fontaine
from Winnipeg, Jeff Chief from Saskatchewan, Paul Smith from Edmonton and
myself, Jenny Fraser from Brisbane. We were all drawn together to spend time at
Banff in Blackfoot country.
In negotiating the title I shared the above quote from Djon Mundine a Bundjalung
man from New South Wales… our unofficial Ambassador for Aboriginal Art in
Australia ; ) I had seen him write it in the front of a book that he gifted. It
stays with me.
The feather relates to all of us that belong to the Land and Animals. Feathers
speak to us specifically and cross-culturally. Since then Djon has written more
on the feather for an artists memorial…
In contemporary Aboriginal practices of other groups, feather-appendage is
extended in meaning to string tassel, sacred string marking a journey,
connecting landscapes, people, family lineages, and, importantly, the embryo
cord linking child and mother.
A Wing of
the eagle hawk, Malyan, a skin name, a scary dream-being overhead. Is it
guardian angel or assassin? In the south-east, a feather left behind is often
evidence of such a spiritual visit.
Honouring the feather for its cleansing and healing powers,
Lita
Fontaine produced her new digital
work in-residence at Banff titled Protection, Broken-Hearted and
the Colours of our Rainbow. The works bravely deal with
issues of the heart and ceremony.
Using the tools of his trade in costume design and fashion, and also the beading
techniques of his culture, Jeff Chiefs textile layers bring us an
insightful view from his bedroom window at Banff. Sleeping Buffalo Mountain is
sacred to the Blackfoot. Paul Smith uses
feathers as a visual icon to fill sound bubbles in his work. Feathers are one of
many of the icons he used to create narrative flow in his set of 35 drawings.
Using only ink on paper he has offered a stylized take on symbolism that
references cartooning and also designs for inscription. |
View Website |
My own work is part of a wider series titled 'hit the road' which was all based
on roadkill of native animals on lands in the Bundjalung Nation. The series is
also representative of how native people are treated by wider society in
Australia - widely ignored and denied after impact, just like road kill.
“Feathers usually run from above the wings, illustrating the knowledge and
the power given from above, to those below representing the connection from
earth to sky”.
-Leah Fontaine (Anishinaabe / Dakota)
Jenny Fraser
Artist / Curator
Feathers Float was exhibited at the Other Gallery, Banff Art Centre, Alberta
Canada in July 2005 and lives-on at cyberTribe.
Quotes from:
Wungguli – Shadow : Photographing the spirit and Michael Riley
Djon Mundine
Soon to be published in the Catalogue for the Artists Retrospective at the
National Gallery of Australia
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