The winter nights have drawn in so why not look at our beautiful evening skies? Perhaps you'll see a cigar-shaped alien space ship (or meteor?) gliding through it. If you're sky is light polluted take inspiration from Australia's milky way as depicted on these teapots, mugs, sugar pots, cup and saucers, milk jugs and bowls. Alma's paintings were a sell out at her only solo UK exhibition held at Bay Gallery Home but her chinaware continues to be one of our most popular designs. Available online www.baygalleryhome.com or in the gallery.
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.
The Musée du Quai Branly houses the art and artefacts of indigenous cultures, with an Australian Aboriginal collection in its Oceana Section. It most notably holds the largest international commission of contemporary Indigenous art from Australia. In 2013, with the aim of integrating non-European art into the architectural concept of the building, architect Jean Nouvel commissioned a series of contemporary Aboriginal art installations to be painted on the ceilings, roof and façade of the building on Rue de l’Université. Eight artists were called upon: four women (Lena Nyadbi, Judy Watson, Gulumbu Yunupingu, Ningura Napurrula) and four men (John Mawurndjul, Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford, Michael Riley, Tommy Watson), each originating from different communities and cultures, reflecting the art of the territories and urban art.
Dayiwul Lirlmim (Baramundi Scales) by Lena Nyadbi, on the roof of the Musée du Quai Branly.
It is against this historical backdrop of interest and investment in the Australian Aboriginal art movement that buyers from Arteum came across our My Country collection at LDF, commissioning us to supply their museum shop with My Country wallpaper-covered stationary.
And for those with a further interest in the intersection of Australian Aboriginal Art and Architecture, here is a short video documenting the Quai Branly project:
Short film following the making of Australia's greatest indigenous art commission. Interviews with architects, planners and artists. The viewer gains an insight into the complexities of such an important project .
In her life as an artist Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker stands in a family tradition of reputed Utopian painters. The Red Mallee Dreaming she inherited from her grandmother Topsy Pwerle Jones, who along with her aunt Joycelyn Petyarre Jones influenced Sylvaria's evocative feathery compositional style.
The Jitilypuru, or Red Mallee flower is a Eucalyptus species found in arid areas of the desert, and used by the Aboriginals as a sweetener (Eucalyptus rhodantha (Rose Mallee). It is a plant with few yet long-living flowers, lasting 20-30 days and daily producing large amount of nectar. Flowering occurs between March and November, peaking in the winter months of June to August.
The colour and scale dynamics in this painting beautifully convey the delight of this vibrant, fragrant flower in the arid Australian desert landscape, and through its image the artist expresses her and her community's connection with Country, with its bright sweet gifts.
Photo credit: www.malleenativeplants.com.au
Red Malee Dreaming by Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker, detail.
Dreamtime is the English translation of the word Jukurrpa, with a meaning encompassing the creation myths and transmitted memories of the Australian Aboriginal people, an immemorial expressive tradition. Jukurrpa is so intrinsically connected with this 40,000 year old community's history and wisdom that the most accurate way of translating it has been to allude to our sense of the formative intangible experience, memory, the divine, the imagination, the dream that inspires creation.
"Our Art is born from the dreams of each artist and the intense colours we see in our land... Through dreams, we can enter the other – parallel – world, in which since creation, gods, spirits and men have lived together." **
Every artist has a Dreaming, which they will interpret throughout their life, enjoying their connection to their dream and the keys they hold to community life.
Red Malee Dreaming by Sylvaria Napurrurla Walker, detail.
** Quoted from the excellent documentary The Men of the Fifth World:
The aboriginal culture of Australia, includes a large number of tribes inhabiting the oceanic continent before the arrival of the white man. But all that rich culture is doomed to survive in stocks in which its people are destined to extinction.
Our inaugural Australian Aboriginal Art Wall Tiles, from original artworks.
Design Curial singled us out of 170 national and international exhibitors at Surface Design 2017, introducing some of the most innovative surfaces for the architectural, design and construction industries.
The voices of the amazing Australian Aboriginal women artists we represent, the sale of their artwork & the My Country Interiors collection means their communities earn crucial revenue streams.
This allows them to gain independence, access to health care, maintain their origins, cultural heritage and connection with the land.
Through their roles as artists they are expanding the global awareness of an ancient culture in contemporary times. The artist communities we represent are made up of men and women, who have distinct but equally valuable stories to tell and paint of their people and country & it is our privilege to share them and give them a platform.
Nous espérons que vous aimerez cette premiere série de surfaces d'intérieurs (papiers peints, carrelage mural et tapis) produits d'après nos oeuvres d'art aborigène d'Australie.
How thrilling for Bay Gallery Home's My Country collection to be recognised as Interiors Surface Design of 2016 by the World Architecture News WIN Award!
Here is our ever glamorous Alexandra picking up the award, which was presented by Piers Taylor, at a ceremony hosted at the stunningly refurbished Design Museum.
Visual language is integral to the Australian Aboriginal culture. Here (as elsewhere) Art is more than the final product that moves us, art is defined by its creative process. Here, all of creation is in relationship, at one with the land, and the artists are in relationship with their community, sharing stories.
Whether painted on musical instruments or on canvas, the artists recount mapping myths, rituals and sacred topography – they are metaphors for life's journeys, full of symbolism and references to history, botany, topography and the traditional rural Aboriginal way of life.
My Country ceramic wall tiles, core collection (30 cm x 30 cm)
interior design today promotes bay gallery home's My Country interiors range of wallpapers, tiles & rugs as part of the Surface Design 2017 must-see exhibits.
Starting with Water Dreaming, by Shorty Jangala Robertson.
This Ngapa Jukurrpa, or Water Dreaming is the work of a master of colour field abstraction: Shorty Jangala Robertson. Described as a stetson-wearing superstar, he didn’t start painting until he was quite elderly. After a life of struggle and trauma involving being hunted by “white fella” during the Coniston massacre, and being separated from his mother during WW2, Shorty became a sought after world class artist. His paintings are found in collections around the world, and notably in the New South Wallers Art Gallery.
The Rug Makers: dedicated to their craft! Here they painstakingly colour match the artist's palette...
The technical expertise of our collaborators is key to our pioneering core range of wallpapers, ceramics wall tiles & rugs, and our made to order service.
My Country is unique in translating authentic Central Australian Aboriginal artwork into interior surfaces. Due to the meaning and spiritual importance of every element in the artworks, we make sure to enlist state of the art techniques to preserve the detailed quality of each piece.
Translating the quality of the artists' brushstrokes and character, and in particular their sophisticated use of colour across mediums posed a real technical challenge, to which our collaborators masterfully rose!
Tada! Our vibrant Water Dreaming rug, 100% wool (200cm x 140cm).
Mina Mina Dreamtime Rug, 100 % wool, hand knotted.
The wonderful throbbing, pulsating and constantly moving work of Pauline Nangala Gallagher is influenced by a semi-blindness in one eye. Whilst this might be a disadvantage in day to day life, it gives her a wholly unique perspective. Pauline’s country is Pikilyi (Vaughan Springs), a sacred water hole 350 km north-west of Alice Springs. Canvases and paints have been dropped to this remote location since 2005. Pauline paints her stories using a huge array of colours influenced by the colours of her country.
Bay Gallery Home offers bespoke, made to order rugs from our vast collection of authentic Australian Aboriginal Artworks recounting the Aboriginal Dreamtime.
My Country rugs are hand-knotted and available in wool, bamboo silk, Chinese silk or art viscose silk. They can be made to any size, colours may be altered, though the design must stay the same.
Our rugs are manufactured through the ‘GoodWeave’ programme and distributed from the UK.
Water Dreaming (Ngapa Jukurrpa) - Puruyrru, 100% wool hand made rug.
The artist, Shanna, is the great grand-daughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims (Dec) and Bessie Nakamarra Sims (Dec), two of the senior Aboriginal artists at the forefront of the Aboriginal art movement. Shanna started painting when she was 14 years old. Her favourite Jukurrpa, or Dreaming, is the highly complex Water Dreaming, Puyurru, which she depicts in deceptively simple terms and an unrestricted palette.
Bay Gallery Home offers bespoke, made to order rugs from our vast collection of authentic Australian Aboriginal Artworks recounting the Aboriginal Dreamtime.
My Country rugs are hand-knotted and available in wool, bamboo silk, Chinese silk or art viscose silk. They can be made to any size, colours may be altered, though the design must stay the same.
Our rugs are manufactured through the ‘GoodWeave’ programme and distributed from the UK.
"Our art is born from the dreams of each artist and the intense colours we see in our land."
My Countryreferences the Australian Aboriginal philosophy and creative process, whereby all of creation is in relationship, at one with the land.
In our pioneering translations of our artists' artwork into interiors ranges : wallpapers, tiles, rugs, we bring something of the character of Australia's landscapes into your homes.
The artwork we represent stands in the tradition of a sophisticated visual language, composed of layers of regular irregularities of colour, geometry, repetition and scale dynamics.
The particular provenance and symbols of this art – mapping myths, rituals and sacred topography – results in a compelling, versatile aesthetic with a most subtle compositional depth of field. It imbues spaces with wider horizons of the imagination.
In this painting, Betty Pulamorton is depicting her bushmedicine – bushtucker – and the country where her #dreamtime stories sit. Knowledge is shared through each generation via ceremonies, initiations, stories and more recently painting.
It was a much appreciated honour to attend Highgrove, HRH Prince Charles's Cotswolds residence, for drinks and canapés .
Prince Charles has always supported traditional Art projects through The Princes's School of Traditional Arts, and he is keenly aware of the challenges facing Aboriginal communities – in which respect the process of making Art and the income it provides plays a significant role.
