2008 This everything water
28 Feb 2008 – 28 Mar 2008
South Australian School of Art Gallery
2008 Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts
Curator: Kay Lawrence
Artists: Kay Lawrence, Butcher Jo Nangan, Aubrey Tigan
The exhibition explores the uses and meaning of pearl shell harvested and traded from the Dampier Peninsula in northwest Western Australia in the early 20c. The luminescence of pearl shell is seen as a sign for water for many Indigenous Australian groups in north western and central Australia, and a sign for life in Christian iconography. However, the exploitative practices of the pearl shell industry in the late 19c and early 20c, meant pearl shell also became a sign for death. The work in the exhibition, made by artists, Kay Lawrence, Butcher Jo Nangan and Aubrey Tigan draw on the materiality and metaphorical connotations of pearl shell to explores these ideas.
Artworks in Exhibition
Pearl shell from South Australian Museum and private collection
- A70123 Untreated pearl shell valve, north Western Australia, late 20c, collection: South Australian Museum.
- A3320 Plain pearl shell pendant with hair string, Flora Vale, Western Australia, early 20c, 19.5 x 10.5 x 1.8 cm, collection: South Australian Museum.
- A3317 Pearl shell engraved with a haphazard meander and marks indicating bird and macropod tracks, Cygnet Bay, Western Australia, 1890’s, 15.8 x 11.6 x 0.5cm, collection: South Australian Museum.
- A 3068 Pearl shell blade (Pinjapinja) on dentalium string, Cygnet Bay, Western Australia, 1890’s, 39 x 3.6 x 1.5cm, collection: South Australian Museum.
- A1059 Pearl shell blade (Pinjapinja) on skein of hair string, Brunswick Bay, Western Australia, early 20c, 78 x 2.4 x 1cm, collection: South Australian Museum.
- A3318 Pearl shell engraved with maze and bilaterally symmetrical design, Mt Casuarina, Western Australia, early 20c, collection: South Australian Museum.
- A29397 Pearl shell engraved with haphazard maze, Broome, Western Australia, undated, collection: South Australian Museum.
- A72475 Pearl shell engraved with angular maze, Kimberley, Western Australia, early 20, collection: South Australian Museum.
- Pearl shell phallocrypt engraved with bilaterally symmetrical design on hair belt, Moola Bulla Station, Kimberley, Western Australia, undated, private collection.
Pearl shells by Butcher Joe Nangan
- Nyigina elder Butcher Joe Nangan, Mermaids, 1977, engraved pearl shell valve, Broome, Kimberley, Western Australia, 16.4cm private collection.
- Nyigina elder Butcher Joe Nangan, Karapulu Men shell, engraved pearl shell, Broome, Kimberley, Western Australia, private collection.
- Nyigina elder Butcher Joe Nangan, Nyarinyari bungu-Walibungu shell, engraved pearl shell, Broome, Kimberley, Western Australia, private collection.
Pearl shells by Aubrey Tigan
- Aubrey Tigan, Riji (cat 11420), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 16 x 12cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, private collection.
- Aubrey Tigan, Honest Man Riji (cat 24258), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 17 x 13cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.
- Aubrey Tigan, Love Riji (cat 11222), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 17 x 14cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.
- Aubrey Tigan, Riji- Cyclone Story (cat 23668), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 18 x 15cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.
- Aubrey Tigan, Riji - Fish Trap (cat 24192), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 16 x 13cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.
- Aubrey Tigan, Stingray (Barnamba) Design Riji (cat 24191), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 16.5 x 13cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.
- Aubrey Tigan, Trading Shell Design Riji (cat 24190), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 17.5 x 14cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.
- Aubrey Tigan, Jidids at Iwani (Whirlpool) Story (cat 24189), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 16 x 13.5cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.
- Aubrey Tigan, Gordon Bay (cat 24185), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 15 x 12cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.
- Aubrey Tigan, Island Riji (cat 23393), 2007, engraved pearl shell filled with ochre, 17 x 14cm, Djaridjin, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, courtesy Short St Gallery, Broome.