Aboriginal Fibre Art

The baby basket by Lucy Malirrimurruwuy Wanapuyngu is also a coiled bathi. Lucy Malirrimurruwuy Wanapuyngu (b. 1955), from the Wagilag language group, is an elder of the Gapuwiyak community. She has exhibited internationally. In her collaborations with anthropologist Dr Louise Hamby, Lucy Malirrimurruwuy Wanapuyngu has been active in leading workshops and promoting fibre art all over the world. She has also taught many in the community, including family members. The stamp photograph is by Trevor van Weeren.

Most Gapuwiyak bathi are made from gunga (Pandanus spiralis), often found growing along watercourses or coastal fringes and dune systems in northern Australia. The other plant fibre often used in bathi is kurrujong (Brachychiton diversifolius) or balgurr. The inner bark of the tree trunk is spun to produce string bags (gay’wu) as well as the cord attached to the top of the bathi, such as we see in the twined cone-shaped basket by Mary Djupuduwuy Guyula, presented in this stamp design. The twining technique is a process by which two lengths of pandanus are twisted and worked simultaneously and horizontally across a series of vertical or radiating spokes, which forms the frame. The stamp photograph is by Louise Hamby.

The coiling technique is comparatively recent in Arnhem Land, originally introduced by missionaries in the early 20th century, who learnt it from Aboriginal peoples in south-eastern Australia. The basket by Nancy Walinyinawuy Guyula presented on this stamp is a coiled bathi. The technique involves the weaver tightly coiling a bundle of pandanus fibre around in a spiral from the base to the outer edge, while stitching it to the coil beneath with a separate fibre thread. The stamp photograph is by Leise Knowles.