Design and Art Australia Online

Senior Kuninjku artist, Raylene Bonson, was born in 1974 at Maningrida in north-central Arnhem Land. She is a textile artist that has been working with Bábbarra Designs since 2012, mentored by her late mother, Nancy Gununwanga, a senior textile artist at Bábbarra Designs and founding member of Bábbarra Women’s Centre. Raylene specialises in linocut technique and is well known for her designs depicting ancestral stories and ceremonial objects, in particular lorrkkon (hollow log for burial ceremony), kunmadj (dillybag) and mandjabu (conical fishtrap).

In a video, made by the Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics in association with Bábbarra Women’s Centre and The Batchelor Institute, Raylene spoke about two of her recently completed textile designs, yawkyawk and mandjabu and her experience at Bábbarra Women’s Centre. She stated, “My father was from Barrihdjowkkeng. I have been working for a long time here at Bábbarra Women’s Centre. I started…some years ago, we have been working here. My dreaming is the young female water spirit beings belonging to my father. The sacred site for these water spirits is at Barrihdjowkkeng. A long time ago, I saw my father and my great grandfather, they were making a conical fishtrap. I was small and I sat down with them and I watched how they made it, the way the old people used to make them. We would take our fishing lines to Bulkay to catch fish. Previously, we didn’t have (fishing lines) we had hinged hand held fish traps. They taught us our old history. My father taught me all this when we used to go fishing everywhere with fishing lines. There at Bulkay we caught fish. Sometimes Barramundi would go in the trap, or catfish those really big catfish. They would go in the fish trap, then we would take them out and cook them, we would put them on the coats on fire. We would place the trap on a very small creek, then the fish would go inside and we could catch them. We then put them into string bags, but we couldn’t put the trap into the large creeks because of crocodiles.”

Raylene also took part in the ANKAAA Arts Worker Extension Program in 2015 (http://ankaaa.org.au/). Raylene’s main aim in taking part in the program was to build her confidence when interacting with customers and visitors at Maningrida Arts and Culture and Bábbarra Women’s Centre. By forming relationships with art workers from other remote community Art Centres, and meeting other arts professionals from cultural institutions interstate, Raylene has connected with the broader network of the art world and this has helped her feel stronger and more connected to the work place.

Julia Harris, manager at Bábbarra Women’s Centre, stated, “Raylene’s confidence and computer literacy have improved exponentially and she has a renewed enthusiasm for her work as a textile artist. Raylene is very proud of her heritage, both textile printing and in representing her country and showcasing it to other participants. Raylene is a great role model to others in the community, showing that they too can achieve great heights.”

Raylene stated, “The program has been really good for me. Its boosted my confidence and I feel more connected to other arts workers and the arts industry.”

In 2016, Raylene received an award at the Northern Territory Textile Awards, alongside associates Deborah Wurrkidj and Helen Lanyinwaga. She has also featured as one of the emerging artists, in a group exhibition, Báb-barra: Women’s Printing Culture at The Cross Art Projects (2017) [http://www.crossart.com.au/current-show].

Reference List:
Bábbarra Women’s Centre. “Raylene Bonson.” Bábbarra Women’s Centre. Last modified 2017. https://babbarra.com/artist/raylene-bonson/.

CALL Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics. “Raylene Bonson – ywakyawk ‘female water spirits’ and mandjabu ‘fishtrap’.” Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics. Last modified 2017. https://ictv.com.au/video/item/4820.

Davidson, Christina. “Raylene Bonson.” In ANKA Arts Worker Extension Program 2015. Northern Territory: Tim Fairfax Association, 2015.

Writers:

emma_sheehan

Date written:

2017

Last updated:

2017