Immerse yourself in the tropical surroundings of far north Queensland, as Alcaston Gallery in January flourishes with colourful ghost net weavings and paintings by the artists from Pormpuraaw, located on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The emerging artists are truly inspired by their environment; being situated between two rivers, the artists are surrounded by reefs inhabited by fish and various other sea creatures, which they playfully depict using ghost nets – the fishing nets that have been found washed up from the tides, combined with varieties of yarn and rope.

These ghost nets which usually threaten the marine life have been transformed in weaved works of art by the Pormpuraaw artists. Pormpuraaw is home to two major language groups, Thaayorre and Mungkan; the Thaayorre people are the ‘Saltwater’ people and the Mungkan are the ‘Freshwater’ people, and both language groups share their art and culture in Pormpuraaw. Culture is very important in Pormpuraaw, and the artists use totems, creation stories and their everyday life as themes for their art.

Featured artists:

Patricia Coleman, Rhiannon Edwards, Romena Edwards, Christine Holroyd, Marlene Holroyd, Mary Holroyd, Elliot Koonutta, Simon Norman, Sid Bruce Short Joe and Christine Yantumba

Image: © Romena Edwards, Alcaston Gallery