Our Aboriginal wallpaper artists at Number 46

Two of our incredibly talented artists who are painfully shy sit outside the art centre where they gather their painting materials before disappearing to paint. On their return they saunter in, often barefoot in clothes, they choose for colour and pattern, clutching exquisite completed works depicting the bush tucker and medicine of their Country. When we visit they are intrigued as to which work we choose to sell or translate into wallpapers. The painting on the art centre wall is inspiring us to upscale the next wallpapers in the collection!

It is a huge privilege to work with these women who empower us through their tenacity, fortitude and innate talent. Funds from each wallpaper goes to them and other artists in the Community providing painting materials, healthcare, transport and schooling in both Aboriginal and Western cultures helping to bridge the gap.

The wallpapers are available from our Cotswolds gallery or online at www.baygalleryhome.com

Fabulous Aboriginal fabrics coming to Bay Gallery Home soon

Bay Gallery Home is working hard on creating 'Songlines' our first collection of fabrics based on paintings by artists we proudly represent.  We have developed the world's first Aboriginal velvets available in three colours with slightly differing depictions of the Goanna Dreaming (Warnu Jukurrpa) - essentially a love story set in the Central Desert of Australia.  In keeping with our 'design with origin' ethos we have been faithful to the original artwork in the design work thereby protecting the Dreamtime story and the intent of the artist.  Keep an eye on the website over the next month or so as beautiful tableware, blinds and cushions will be amongst our first offerings.

Snake Vine Dreaming, Yanjirlpiri : contemporary uses of traditional iconography

Ngalypi Jukurrpa Yanjirlpiri, Snake Vine Dreaming, by Geraldine Napangardi Granites

Our Art gallery seeks to showcase the versatility of the contemporary Australian Aboriginal artists, whose brilliant and diverse work is rooted both in the very real modern-day challenges of their culture & their rich heritage. One of these artists is Geraldine Napangardi Granites, who brings her own dynamic, modern painterly interpretation to a traditional subject matter : the Snake Vine Dreaming, or Ngalyipi Jukurrpa. 

The Snake Vine Dreaming Geraldine paints is associated with a specific country in the Australian Central Desert: Yanjirlpiri, or ‘star’ (known as Mt. Nicker), lying to the west of Yuendumu. In Aboriginal culture, Dreamings have specific ‘kirda’ (owners), and in the kirda of this Dreaming are the Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men & Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women. Geraldine is one such Napaljarri/Nungarrayi artist, the daughter of the celebrated artist Alma Nungarrayi Granites and granddaughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims (dec) and Bessie Nakamarra Sims (Dec): two of Warlukurlangu Artists Artists Aboriginal Corporation founding artists. Born & bred in Yuendumu, she lives locally with her four children and has developed her artistry by observing her grandfather’s art and that of Judy Napangardi Watson, a Warlpiri artist at the forefront of a move towards more abstract rendering of Dreaming stories.

In Snake Vine Dreaming traditional iconography, sinuous lines represent the Ngalyipi (snake vine), and straight lines represent the witi (ceremonial poles) and karlangu (digging sticks). Geraldine's painting pools from this tradition, whilst giving us a visual representation of how intricately interwoven this plant is in the daily physical & spiritual life of its people, and the profoundly interconnected relationship of the Aboriginal people to Country.

The snake vine, or Ngalyipi [Tinospora smilacina]) is found in the trees and shrubs of sandy spinifex plains and sandhills, this green creeper has many uses in daily life and is of great ceremonial importance. The vine is made up into as a shoulder strap to carry parraja (coolamons) and ngami (water carriers), or exploited for its medicinal uses: as tourniquets, and its leaves and vines are used as bandages for wounds. The Warlpiri people sometimes chew the leaves to treat severe colds, or pound the stems into poultices to cure headaches.

The importance of Yanjirlpiri cannot be overemphasized, as the sons and grandsons of Japaljarri and Jungarrayi men are brought here from as far away as Pitjantjatjara country (to the south), and from Lajamanu (to the north) to be initiated. This witi ceremony is performed at night under the stars, during which Napaljarri and Nungarrayi women will dance but then look away and block their ears when it is time for the men dance. In men’s initiations, Ngalyipi is used to tie the witi (ceremonial poles) to the shins of the dancing initiates, and to tie yukurruyukurru (dancing boards) to dancers’ bodies.

You are always welcome to pay a visit to our Art gallery in Tetbury, Gloucestershire or to browse through its digital counterpart in the ART section of this website.

We regularly post blogs on the provenance of our artwork. If you are interested in learning more about Dreamings, do have a read of our blog The Dream before the Art.

Snapshots of our Art Sourcing Trip in the Australian Central Desert

Detail from a painting we will be bringing back to Bay Gallery Home's Gallery, a fine example of the ever-evolving work of contemporary Australian Aboriginal Artists.

On the road to Uluru, after being Fool-uru by Mount Conner...

Here's a detail from Australian Aboriginal Street Art in Papunya, by Candy - a dynamic work of Art that feels full of expression and relevance.

Mount Conner, also called 'Fool-uru' by locals for so often being mistaken for Uluru..

Some of the rich stylistic variety of contemporary Australian Aboriginal artists, each incarnating the Artist's experience and connection with Country, their land and identity heritage.