The Cannery Arts Centre has a new exhibition featuring paintings on tufted rugs by Warnman artist Desmond Taylor and textile designer Mariaan Pugh.
The artworks illustrate the Niminjarra Jukurrpa or dreaming path of two brothers who transform into snakes so they can return home to sacred country.
Taylor said the exhibition is about sharing stories from pre-colonisation and allowing people to learn about Australia’s first culture through art.
“I always wanted to concentrate on one Jukurrpa, one storyline of a Dreaming path that our people are descendants of,” Taylor said.
“The idea for the rugs came many years ago when I was looking at different ways of trying to find my own style of artwork and create a pathway for my work.”
Pugh said it has been a privilege to collaborate with Taylor and to be able to help express his art through a new medium.
“Given the cultural significance of his works, I’ve been careful to stay true to his paintings as much as the medium allows, although we’ve had to make a few tweaks here and there,” Pugh said.
“I really love the practice of tufting, it’s a highly tactile medium and it’s so satisfying to see the design come to life, thread by thread.”
The exhibition opened on May 8 and will be on display until June 1.
