Yir (Dilly Bag)

Nunggayinbala people have used dilly bags for thousands of years for practical and ceremonial purposes, but not untill recently were they made from repurposed ghost nets and shade cloth fabric. Dilly bags, or 'yir' in Nunggubuyu language, were traditionally made from pandanus or bark, and painted using different shades of ochre. Numbulwar artists have taken tradition to the next level by replicating the forms using found, contemporary materials that speak to the environmental deterioration of their homelands. Brightly coloured acrylics replace ochre stripes for clan identification and individual expression.

DETAILS

• Painted shadecloth
• Dimensions: 42 x 31.5 cm
• Cat No. 344-22

ARTIST

Megan Wilfred is a Ritharrngu artist from Walker River in South-East Arnhem Land. She lives and works in Numbulwar with her sisters and niece, and is renowned for her large, painted dilly bags made from reclaimed ghost nets.

ART CENTRE

Built on self-determination, Numbulwar Numburindi Arts (NNA) is a colletive or artists whose mission is to keep culture strong. Established in 2019, Numbulwar’s first art centre is 100 per cent owned and controlled by the community. Born from the community’s desire to practice and engage with traditional culture, NNA is a space for artistic and cultural expression. Champions of fibre art, NNA artists marry naturally-dyed and locally-harvested pandanus with bright and bold ghost nets, abandoned fishing line retrieved from Numbulwar’s shoreline. Our Wulbung (baskets) and Yir (dillybags) fit as naturally in traditional applications as they do in contemporary, urban environments. Numbulwar sits on the Rose River and belongs to the Nunggayinbala clan, one of the Wubuy or Nunggubuyu speaking clans from the region. Ceremonial activities are still very important within the region and occur regularly.