'Bawaliba' (Spirit Woman / Esprit Femme) cushion by Lucy Yarawanga - Beige, White and Silver, 60x60cm
IDAIA x Babbarra
Regular price
€139.00
Sale
Art cushion cover 60 x 60 cm.
Same fabric on both sides.
Removable with zipper.
Fabric: Fine art screen print on dark beige linen fabric, hand printed with eco-friendly inks by the female artists of the Bàbbarra Women's Center in the Aboriginal community of Maningrida in Arnhem Land.
Hand sewn in a Parisian workshop.
Machine wash cold possible.
Meaning of the fabric design :
"It is the Dream of my mother and my uncles. These spirits are called Bawáliba. They used to go hunting. (Near Ranger Station, in my mother and uncle's home country). They went hunting with collection bags and digging sticks. They used to gather a lot of food in the Bush and sleep under a shelter made of bark.
Sometimes spirits come alive when we sleep, so they come into the house and look out the windows. We get up to better observe them but they disappear. They are really big. They are like human beings, like us. They dance and have a lot of hair. They carry fish traps and digging sticks.
They are good spirits, they protect us and they recognize families. They may knock on the window to remind us that they are there to watch over us. You can hear them whispering, sometimes they talk about us and say 'Why are they making a house here?', 'This family is from here, it's ok, they're sleeping here for the night'.
During the day they turn to stone and they sleep. You see this green rock, it is the Bawáliba.”
- Lucy Yarawanga.
Learn more about the collection
Complete with matching cushion insert
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Cushion 'Bawaliba' (Spirit Woman / Esprit Femme) by Lucy Yarawanga
Art cushion cover 60 x 60 cm.
Same fabric front and back.
Removable cover with zipper.
Fabric: Hand-screenprinted on dark beige linen fabric, with ecological inks, by the women artists of the Bàbbarra Women's Center in the Aboriginal community of Maningrida in Arnhem Land.
Hand-sewn in a Parisian workshop.
Cold machine wash possible.
Explanations for the fabric design:
"This is the Djang (Dreaming) of my mother and my uncles. These spirits are called Bawáliba. A long time ago they used to go out hunting. That's in Ranger station near the airport (mum and uncle from further this way to Jingarr) Their homeland. They used to go out hunting with dilly bags and digging sticks. They used to collect a lot of bush foods, and sleep together with one bark shelter.
Sometimes they come alive when we sleep, they come in the house when we sleep and peep through the window and we looked at them with white clay (gapan) and red cloth tied around. We get up to look but they have disappeared. They are really tall. They are like human beings, like us. They dance and have a lot of hair. They are carrying fish traps and digging sticks.
They are good spirits, they protect us and they recognize families. They might knock on the window to remind us they are there looking out for us. You can hear them whisper, sometimes they talk about us and might say, 'why are they making a house here?' Then they say to each other, 'This family are from here, its ok, they are sleeping here for the night'.
During the day they turn into stone and they sleep. When you see that green rock, that's Bawaliba."
-Lucy Yarawanga