ALCHEMY: GAAY-BIDI
A series of botanically dyed woollen cloaks created to embody kinship born of the plains, woven together by mountain ranges, fed by river systems and guided by the stars.
A collection of 5 garru (cloaks) made to map the 1000km migration and lifecycle of generations of birrga / bogong moth along the Murray darling / great dividing range / Milky Way.. and the mass movement and convergence of mobs for coroboree, ceremony and governance.
The biggest migration of protein in the southern hemisphere for over 30,000 years.. signalling life, balance, relationships & seasonal abundance.
A species so great in number they were never counted - now under serious threat of extinction.
Every part of this gaay-bidi / birrga songline is interconnected. This work was created to remember this important story, and our collective roles to care for the kinship bonds that have nurtured fed and sustained us for millennia.
The plight of the little bogong is the plight for us all in this big story:
Giirr ngiyani gunimaagu gaaydjuul guwaaldanha / We (us and country / mother earth) telling one story.
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Light, layers and tactility – Powerhouse Castle Hill exhibition Alchemy
features new commissions by First Nations creative practitioners from across Australia who specialise in natural dyeing techniques. Taking its title from the protoscientific tradition of transforming one kind of material into another, Alchemy uncovers the processes involved in producing pigments and dyes.
Alchemy shares the deep social and cultural knowledge that informs the production of dyed natural fibres.
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Powerhouse Museum Collection (acquired 2024).
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Body of work by Lucy Simpson developed in creative partnership with Leah Giblin and studio assistant Charleigh Te Peeti, with Performative activation by Joshua Doctor.
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Images courtesy Chris Chen
