BONJI BAJARA - (Bunya Footsteps) - Curated By Lexie Abel

These blankets, vases and accompanying ochre paintings have been created by artists Libby Harward and Bj Murphy.

Bonyi Bajara Product range is an expression of the artists' ongoing cultural connections and tells the stories of their families travelling across country to come together for the sacred Bonyi - Bunya Gatherings.

The Bonyi gatherings have been a foundational part of Aboriginal governance and kinship from time immemorial—connecting and inter weaving far reaching Aboriginal nations, languages and cultures fro across the country, for millennia. Our Bonyi Bajara make Bambara/Dambadamba (pathways)that still map our landscape, showing the walking paths that brought thousands of our ancestors together for trade, ceremony, marriage, celebration and inter-sovereign politics. The bountiful and nutritious nuts, sustaining both physically and culturally, generations after generations. The Bonyi gatherings continue to be a significant event, for the artists as well as for many other Aboriginal families who continue to come together to trade bunya, stories, knowledge songs, and material culture, memories and joy during Bonyi season.

BAMBARA (Pathways)

Libby’s blanket maps a journey from her salt and sand island, Mulgumpin celebrating the abundance of shell fish - yuguri (pippi) and ginyinggara (oysters), she travel with family across the bay, across countries, up through rivers creeks and over mountains into Jinibara country where she calls out and waits to be invited in, it is here the 2 meet and the blankets join on the river for ceremony on freshwater Bonyi country.

DAMBADAMBA (Pathways)

BJ’s blanket speaks of reconnection as many families arrive onto Bunya country. His image shows the river that flows under the ancestor Bonyi, as the sun sets over Jinibara. Bj’s blanket wraps us in the memories of his country and people who are host to the Bonyi Gatherings, a tri-annual governance celebration thats reunites families and keeps country strong.