Bukmak scroll
​2019

                                                                    Mussel hunting with Rosemary. Galiwin'ku/Elcho Island. 2019

                                      Mussel hunting with Rosemary. Watercolour, oil, found material, stamps, khadi silk, embroidered panels on paper. Detail. 1000cmx20cm (entire). 2019.                                                                                                                              

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​Bukmak means "altogether" in Yolgnu Matha, which is the tongue I encountered in Galiwin'ku or Elcho Island where I lived for six months. Bukmak scroll diarises my time in Galiwin'ku where I was adopted by Rosemary Gunjarranbuy Gurrawurra Galikali. Rosemary named me Dhorna, for the sacred digging stick that belonged to the two spirit women who descended from the Pleides, and who as she told me, created the features of Galiwin'ku as they stopped to rest. 
It meant a lot to me to be adopted by Rosemary, and to be named after an important and useful instrument as the digging stick. I carried this sense with me as I made Bukmak scroll, which chronicles encounters and experiences with people of Gali'winku, and the stories they shared about hemselves with me.




                                                                                                                                          A digitised version of the Bukmak scroll is forthcoming. 

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