Across the desert

Aboriginal Batik from Central Australia

Utopia

In 1977 batik was introduced to Anmatyerr and Alyawarr women as part of adult art and craft and literacy classes at Utopia Station, which comprises seventeen disparate communities scattered throughout the Sandover region. The spontaneous informality of the women’s designing and dyeing sessions in the open air differed somewhat from the centralised and structured program in the Ernabella craft room. By designing straight onto the cloth, loosely held on their laps, Utopia artists produced batiks that are distinguished by their irregularity, raw energy and vigorous gesture. This exhibition also intersects with what was happening in Australian fashion at the time and one of Australia’s foremost fashion designers was Linda Jackson. Jackson’s aesthetic reflected her interest in developing a singular ‘Australian’ style which drew inspiration from the bush and Aboriginal art.In the collaborative ensemble her deference and admiration for the Batik composition, created by the six Utopia artists informed her approach.