Craft Victoria's regional program, Craft Forward, presents exhibitions by influential Victorian makers in significant regional galleries, supported by Creative Victoria. Craft Victoria has built a strong, collaborative relationship with Baluk Arts and was delighted to partner with six important women artists and the Benalla Regional Art Gallery.
Sea HER Land is curated by Lisa Waup and was inspired by this year's NAIDOC theme 'Because of Her, We Can'. This exhibition showcases a rich quality and diverse range of works made from natural materials by six of Baluk Arts' key female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists: Tallara Gray, Cassie Leatham, Gillian Garvie, Beverley Meldrum, Nannette Shaw & Lisa Waup. Exquisite works made from materials such as bull kelp, shells, bones, clay, wool, wood, assorted fibres, river reed and feathers honour mother earth and evoke memories of personal history. Each artist has a strong connection to the material they have utilised in their work, whether from the sea or the land. It is HER story, cradled in the form of a vessel, to encapsulate the essence of protection and strength.
Curated by Lisa Waup, Sea HER Land emanates strong cultural ties to individual stories and complex interconnections. Through the collecting of materials from places lived or travelled to, examining them, and finding considered new uses, these strong Indigenous women identify with their heritage and reclaim and reignite their innate cultural expression. This collection of works explores both the protective and nurturing role of nature and the ancient practice of using elements from the natural world to create diverse works as a rich expression of culture, identity, and place that links generations together.
Sea HER Land emanates strong cultural ties to individual stories and complexed interconnections. Through the collecting of materials from places lived or travelled to, examining them, and finding considered new uses, these strong Indigenous women identify with their heritage and reclaim and reignite their innate cultural expression. This collection of works explores the protective and nurturing role of nature and the ancient practice of using elements from the natural world to create diverse works as a rich expression of culture, identity and place that links generations together.
Working alongside these amazing women has been an absolute honour to create works for Sea HER Land. Witnessing the evolvement manifest in these vessels has been a natural and magical progression unfolding before my eyes. The storytelling surrounding the creation of these pieces has been incredible, connecting each of these women to their Country, their environment and honouring the locally sourced natural materials. The colours, textures and materials magnified in these precious works demonstrate the diverse and intimate connection all these women have with the sea and the land. — Lisa Waup
"Sea HER Land emanates strong cultural ties to individual stories and complexed interconnections. Through the collecting of materials from places lived or travelled to, examining them, and finding considered new uses, these strong Indigenous women identify with their heritage and reclaim and reignite their innate cultural expression. This collection of works explores both the protective and nurturing role of nature, and the ancient practice of using elements from the natural world to create diverse works as a rich expression of culture, identity and place that links generations together.
Working alongside these amazing women it has been an absolute honour to create works for Sea HER Land. Witnessing the evolvement manifest in these vessels has been a natural and magical progression unfolding before my eyes. The storytelling surrounding the creation of these pieces has been incredible, connecting each of these women to their Country, their environment and honouring the locally sourced natural materials. The colours, textures and materials magnified in these precious works demonstrates the multifarious and intimate connection all these women have with the sea and the land."
- Lisa Waup