Design and Art Australia Online

moekatan is a palawa woman; her name means 'of the sea’. Her Australian name is Bernice Condie. She is a direct descendant of manalagena, bangana of the trawulwai Nation. Her Spirit is linked to her Country, tebrikuna, now commonly known as the northeast region of Tasmania, and to the great stretch of water that is known as Bass Strait.
She was born in Launceston, Tasmania in October of 1936. She is the fourth sibling of thirteen, having grown up at Lady Barron, Flinders Island, looking across Franklin Sounds to the islands where the palawa tradition of muttonbirding has been carried out since the early 1800s. Her father was a fisherman and moekatan grew up playing and then later working near or on the sea.
As a child she was taught her culture and history; who she was, where she came from, and what was culturally and spiritually important, by her extended family, her Elders and her Community. An essential aspect of that was learning the skill of 'maireener’ shell necklace making – a tradition which is at least 20,000 years old. Her Auntie Louie Brown taught her the intricacies of finding the live shells, cleansing through ancient ritual and natural processes, sorting, and designs – what belonged to which family and individual. She learned where to look for and find her own shells, the detailed and intricate stringing practices and the oral histories associated with this ancient and very precious cultural art. There are only seven practitioners of 'maireener’ in the world and she feels privileged and proud to be one of them. moekatan works with some of the rarest shells. She says, “I work with pride to honour the memories of the old ladies who taught me – they give me the strength to continue and their Spirits guide me in teaching others.”
She is the only member of her family to continue this ancient expression, however her younger sister, maikutena, expressed interest in learning and moekatan commenced teaching her. moekatan considers her role as a teacher, responsible to pass on this cultural knowledge to the younger people of her extended family, as an honour. She says there is nothing more honourable than being trusted by her Ancestors to ensure precious ancient Knowledges are continued through millennia.
moekatan only re-established herself as a practitioner of maireenier in her later years after retiring from employment, however she has been widely exhibited and acknowledged by her peers and contemporaries as a quality practitioner. She has also been featured in publications and television because of her passion, professionalism and integrity as a matriarch of palawa and the practice of 'maireener’.
moekatan gets her ideas for patterns from the nature of the sea, the living sea shells which she uses and their life cycles and patterns of survival. She says she listens to the sounds of the sea and wind and sees the visual patterns in her spiritual dimension. moekatan says the sun reflecting on the colours of the shells she uses represents the ebb and flow of the seas as the tide rises and falls. She has always been fascinated that, no matter where she is, by holding a shell to her ear she can hear the waters communicate with her. She finds working on these precious cultural products is a time of spiritual connection with the sea, after whom she has been named and by whom she has lived most of her life. The sea has nurtured her Spirit and her body. moekatan believes the sea brings her peace and tranquility and she tries to honour that by relaying it through her work.
moekatan also paints landscapes. She does these only for specific people and tries to connect with that person through her interpretation of their Spirit, personality and life passions. moekatan has never exhibited these expressions because they are painted for the one person only and, once finished, are given to the person intended.
moekatan’s third artistic expression is seaweed art. She collects seaweed sometimes as she is collecting shells and other times when she feels at one with the sea. She cleanses the seaweed and arranges it in patterns to dry to demonstrate the beauty of the seaweed itself and it’s natural movement in the tidal ebb and flow of the sea. These are then framed. These also have not been exhibited to date.

Writers:

Matson-Green, Vicki
staffcontributor

Date written:

2008

Last updated:

2011