Science Gallery: Community Weaving Workshop
"Rivers signify tribal boundaries, gatherings for corroboree, life, not only for humans but for all living creatures" – Maree Clarke
Created by Boon Wurrung artist Mitch Mahoney and Mutti Mutti/Yorta Yorta and Boon Wurrung/Wemba Wemba artist Maree Clarke, Eel Trap is a 10-metre installation made of biodegradable reeds and grasses on the Maribyrnong River.
Inspired by traditional Aboriginal eel traps and made of river reeds from the local area, this installation is an example of how we might we use Indigenous knowledge, science and art to continue our fight towards a sustainable future. The installation will be created by Mahoney and Clarke and the local community, and will then be released into the Maribyrnong River.
Members of the general public are invited to join the artists in free weaving workshops to build Eel Trap.
Footscray Community Arts Centre
31 JULY–21 AUGUST 2019
Community weaving workshops: open Wednesday to Friday 11am–3pm, and Saturday 1pm–3pm
23 AUGUST–31 AUGUST 2019
Eel Trap viewing in Maribyrnong River: Outdoor installation, accessible everyday at all times
Footscray Community Arts Centre gallery is open Monday to Friday 9.30am - 5pm, Saturday 10am – 4pm. About the contributor(s):
Mitch Mahoney (Australia)
Mitch is a young emerging Indigenous (Boon Wurrung) artist who has a passion for marine biology and transdisciplinary creative practice. He has a Diploma of Visual Arts at Hunter TAFE School of Arts, received a scholarship for the National Gallery of Australia Summer Arts School, and participated in arts development training at Museums Victoria. Mitch has produced commissioned artworks for Life Without Barriers (2014), Wingecarribee Shire Council (2014), the Koorie Heritage Trust (2015), Linuwell Steiner School (2016) and Knox City Council (2018). He was also contracted by the Canada Council of the Arts to collaborate with three other Australian Aboriginal artists and four Canadian Aboriginal artists to produce a possum skin cloak and a buffalo robe, as a cultural infusion project to mark the 150th year of Canadian confederation as part of Wrapped in Culture in 2017.
Maree Clarke (Australia)
Maree – a Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta, Boon Wurrung woman from Mildura in northwest Victoria – is a multi-disciplinary artist living and working in Melbourne. Maree is a pivotal figure in the reclamation of southeast Australian Aboriginal art practices, reviving elements of Aboriginal culture that were lost over the period of colonisation. Maree’s continuing desire to affirm and reconnect with her cultural heritage has seen her revivification of the traditional possum skin cloaks, together with the production of contemporary designs of kangaroo teeth necklaces, and string headbands adorned with kangaroo teeth and echidna quills. Maree's multimedia installations of photography, painting and sculpture further explore the rituals and ceremonies of her ancestors.
