GROUND LEVEL, WATERWALL
AUSTRALIA, BORN 1954
LIVES AND WORKS IN THE SWAN HILL REGION
PROJECT
In Miwi Milloo (Good spirit of the Murray River) 2020 Glenda Nicholls has woven her largest and most ambitious net to date. Comprising thousands of hand-woven finger knots, this impressive net is adorned with hundreds of hand-made feather flowers, crafted in collaboration with her daughter, Melinda Andrew.
Through this work, Nicholls continues her narrative connecting women and fishing, emphasising the importance of Aboriginal women in maintaining cultural practices and highlighting the plight of the Murray River system.
ABOUT
Glenda Nicholls is a Waddi Waddi, Ngarrindjeri and Yorta Yorta artist. Her cultural name is Jule Yarra Minj (‘little river girl’) and her maternal Ngarrindjeri totem is the Writcharuki (willy-willy wagtail). Nicholls is a master weaver, constructing elaborate sculptural works that connect the present with her ancestral past. She applies cultural weaving techniques acquired from her ancestors alongside intimate knowledge of the waterways, plants and grasses on her Country. Nicholls is determined to share her cultural knowledge with younger First Nations generations, seeing this exchange as crucial to ensuring cultural practices survive into the future.
The NGV warmly thanks Triennial Major Supporter Lisa Fox for her support.