When culture, community and couture converge
How might a garment express your country and culture? In Piinpi we discover the culturally-infused couture of Australia’s First Nations people.
A deep and lasting spiritual connection to Country forms the basis of a new exhibition of Indigenous Australian contemporary fashion. On show in Bendigo, in the regional south-east of Australia, the exhibition represents a notably diverse cross-section of artists and designers – all First Nations people of Australia.
First Nations Curator, Shonae Hobson, of the Bendigo Art Gallery has named the exhibition ‘Piinpi’, an expression hailing from the First Nations people of East Cape York Peninsula, in the tropical northern tip of Australia. The expression describes changes in the landscape across time and space, and sees Shonae group the garments and design objects on show around four widely recognised seasons.
Represented within this showcase are creatives from all corners of Australia: from the remote reaches of the country’s desert art centres to the densely populated inner-cities. Together their work forms a bold and expressive collection; pieces reveal a rich tradition of storytelling that plays out through contemporary creative expression.
As Shonae expands: “Indigenous fashion is about celebrating the presence of ‘living cultures’ and the continued resistance of First Nations peoples stories, history and art practices. Many of the designers in the exhibition are pushing the boundaries of their creative practices, through experimentation with different mediums, styles and art forms.”
From a Deadly Kween Jumpsuit (Teagan Cowlishaw) – “the embodiment of black empowerment through fashion”, to a Possum Skin Cloak (Rodney Carter) – hand-painted to depict the landscape and waterways surrounding Rodney’s Country, garments are consciously designed to convey culture and contemporary identity.
Of special note is the collaborative collection of Torres Strait Islander artist Lisa Waup and fashion designer Ingrid Verner. The garments are a delicate fusion of art and fashion, embodying Lisa’s graphic visual and woven artwork. They are layered with references to language and symbols, and tinted in an evocative palette of reds and greens – a homage to the Australian landscape. They also carry a powerful message of collaboration, respect and connection to Country, family and one another.
In a world in which fashion is often ruled by commerce and trend, ‘Piinpi’ hints at a different future for fashion. Because as Shonae points out, Indigenous fashion is not about what’s next, it’s about conservation and celebration. “Indigenous fashion is not a ‘trend’ but an important movement that allows us to share our culture and stories with the rest of the world,” says Shonae.
Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion is showing at the Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria, Australia until 17 January 2021.
Words by Alice Blackwood.
