Learn how to make your own Boorongur or ‘totem’ in this weaving workshop with Nyoongar artist Sharyn Egan.
In Nyoongar language, Boorongur refers to a natural object, plant or animal that is inherited by members of a clan or family as their spiritual emblem.
In this workshop, Sharyn invites participants to consider a plant or animal that is important to them and create a raffia, wool and wire sculpture in response. The program offers a shared space for community to engage with Nyoongar cultural knowledges and learn about Sharyn’s material practice.
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Presented in conjunction with barangga: First Nations Design at UNSW Galleries, 17 June – 30 July 2023.
This event will take place in UNSW Galleries Cnr of Oxford St and Greens Rd, Paddington NSW 2021.
Sharyn Egan is a painter, weaver and sculptor. As a member of the Stolen Generation who grew up in the New Norcia Mission School much of her artwork is a commentary on her life as a Nyoongar woman and the associated trauma, emotions and deep sense of loss and displacement experienced by Aboriginal people. Never afraid of experimentation and exploration, she works in numerous media, including painting, sculpture, woven forms and site specific installations, often choosing materials, such as ochres, resins and grasses that connect to land, especially her home near the lake system in the southern suburbs of Perth. Her woven works include traditionally styled contemporary forms and baskets, as well as larger scale sculptural forms.
