Lharagula Ngididin (Crocodile Trap) is a collaborative piece from eight Numburindi artists. Each artist a master weaver in her own right, this is the first time they have officially come together to work on a major sculpture. An imagined object, a crocodile trap is not a traditional hunting tool, but like the use of ghost nets in weaving at Numbulwar is something that these weavers have instigated themselves.
Numburindi artists are innovatively tackling the issue of 'ghost nets', a term for fishing nets that are hacked off commercial fishing vessels and abandoned in the water. Believed to make up 30-50% of all ocean plastic, ghost nets are a massive issue globally, however it is more problematic for some. Ocean currents carry ghost nets from all over the world into the Gulf of Carpentaria, where they harm vulnerable marine life, damage coral reefs and wash up on beaches where they end up buried in the sand or entangled in trees.
A subtle and humorous act of resistance and self-determination, Lharagula Ngididin (Crocodile Trap) turns the onslaught of external forces into a source of power, while reiterating the unwavering connection between Numburindi people, their Country and the life that exists within it.
Rose Wilfred Joy Wilfred, Megan Wilfred, Virginia Wilfred, Jangu Nundhirribala, May Wifred, Jocelyn Wilfred, Nicola Wilfred of Numbulwar Numburindi Arts.
Image Credit: Crocodile Trap (detail), collaboration by artists of Numbulwar Numburindi Arts, ghost net, 87x88x290cm. Images by Pouria Zoughi.