We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
Sonja Carmichael / Ngugi people of Quandamooka, Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) / Australia b.1958 / Quandamooka Gulaiji (Woman’s bag) 2016 / Yunggaire (reeds), coil-woven / 22 x 23cm (height with handle 41cm) / Purchased 2016. Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Sonja Carmichael
Sonja CarmichaelQuandamooka Gulaiji (Woman’s bag) 2016
Not Currently on Display
Sonja Carmichael’s Quandamooka Gulaiji (Woman’s bag) 2016, a traditional flat woven bag, shows that cultural practices can evolve while remaining linked to ancestral forms.
Her gulaiji is in the form of a bag used for daily essentials. She has used a coil bundle weaving technique with an attached handle, made with yunggaire, a reed that grows in shades of pink and green in rugged, swampy areas on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).
Carmichael’s engagement with yunggaire has been both a vital aspect of her studies into the construction and uses of Quandamooka basketry and an inspiration for the artistic practice of the ‘Yunggaire weavers’, a group of multi-generational Quandamooka women and their extended families.
Sonja Carmichael works specifically in the medium of fibre basketry and woven sculptures, reflecting her family’s cultural connections with the land and seas of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).
She draws inspiration from the many stories connected to Quandamooka traditional woven bags and also explores materials and techniques for a contemporary aesthetic. She uses lost and discarded items that wash up on Minjerribah’s shoreline, particularly ‘ghost’ nets and fishing lines which she unravels and integrates into new forms. These works directly respond to concerns about the preservation of the natural environment by transforming the discarded materials into functional and contemporary artworks.
Carmichael is an active member of her community, sharing her weaving skills and passing on her knowledge.