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| Laarri Gallery at Yiyili | ||||||
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| Laarri Gallery welcomes tourists | ||||||
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| Margorie Cox at work in her studio | ||||||
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| Norman Cox in his home studio |
HUNTER GATHERERS |
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Since the first time our old people (ancestors) walked this land, we have been hunter gatherers. Shown the way by father to son and mother to To know all the plants that grow in the wet and dry season; on the trees and bushes, in the ground and in the water. Plants we use for food,medicine and ceremony. We call them by their Goonyiandi names - biriyali (conkerberry), birla (yams), and garringarri (waterlilly). We look under bark and in hollow logs to find lagarndi (witchetty grubs) and ngalinya (sugarbag). We dig in dry riverbed for soak water.
We teach never to hunt or gather more than is needed. We live together with the land and all that is in it. It is our way to share the catch by a camp fire. Since the first time our old people (ancestors) walked this land, we have been hunter gatherers. Shown the way by father to son and mother to To know all the plants that grow in the wet and dry season; on the trees and bushes, in the ground and in the water. Plants we use for food, We teach never to hunt or gather more than is needed. We live together with the land and all that is in it. It is our way to share the catch by a camp fire. The Mural above was a community project and greets tourists who visit Laarri Gallery when they first arrive. The book 'At the River' was published as a follow up to the project to help with literacy at the community school. copyright Mervyn Street and Joy Warring |
Laarri Gallery, a hidden gem in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, is situated in Yiyili Aboriginal Community between Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, just 5 km off the Great Northern Highway.Laarri Gallery was established in a collaboration between Yiyili Community School and Yiyili Community Aboriginal Corporation in 1999. The goal of Laarri Gallery is to provide a place for local artists to work and a space to show. Like other art centres, the money raised from artwork sales goes directly back into the community, not only supporting the artists, but the community at large. The gallery also provides supplies for artists to take home and use.
Yiyili Aboriginal Community is the hub for a number of outstations, other small communities linked to Yiyili, and this structure has influenced the local artists. Local knowledge of bush tucker and bush medicine have also become integral themes of Yiyili and Laarri art. The community has produced two award winning artists to date and has fostered the telling of Gooniyandi stories and dreaming through art.
