Mountains + Saltwater
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Virginia Keft, Saltwater Country, 2023, synthetic polymer, raffia, textiles, silk eco-printed with Eucalyptus leaves, 100 x 91 cm [detail]
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Mountains + Saltwater is a solo exhibition of contemporary Aboriginal painting, weaving, and sculpture by Muruwari woman, Dr Virginia Keft.
Dr Virginia Keft is a Muruwari woman who is a guest on Dharawal Country where she lives. Her work tells a personal story of her connection to this land and place. Dharawal Country is where the mountains meet the ocean. The escarpment hugs the coastline, containing the moisture that rolls off the ocean and depositing it back onto Country as rain. This movement of moisture between the ocean and the mountains is what keeps this thin strip of land green and sustains the life that lives upon it - plant, animal and human. Grey-headed flying foxes are an important part of the delicate ecosystem that has existed for thousands of years. In this exhibition, Dr Keft draws inspiration from this important cycle - creating woven sculptural flying-foxes using ancient weaving techniques passed from Elders to the artist. The central motif of the flying-fox celebrates connection to community, Culture and Country. The exhibition will include the participatory weaving activation, Weaving Connections. The activation invites members of the public to create a weaving and yarning circle in the gallery space. The aim of the Circle is to bring communities together. The weaving activation speaks to traditional practices at the same time engaging in a powerful vision of contemporary arts practice where past, present, and future speak across time to resistance, healing, and connection. |
