A confluence of Legacies

New Indian Express

2 days ago

Recounting their two-year-long journey, Govind explains how the project started with translating woodwork – over 77 of their sacred arts into woodblock. 'The work involved translating BWC's traditional artwork into woodblock prints, an Indian traditional technique that is new for Australian Aboriginal artists,' she notes. When asked about what made the project a good nominee, Govind notes, 'When creating a design roadmap, we have to be careful about the cultural significance of what we are interpreting. It is like translating a legacy. Secondly, we had to map out their design language and translate it into our traditional woodblock and fabric techniques, which quite often requires some changing of the way we print,' she says.
Amidst the excitement of the work, Govind recalls the key challenges saying, 'In our studio, most speak Hindi, and similarly, people in Arnhem speak 14 different languages and tribal dialects. And for both of us, English is a fourth language.' For BWC, even though printing on textiles was familiar, woodblock printing was a concept completely new. As Govind explains, 'Woodblock printing allows us to preserve the prints for much longer than lino. Over the past three decades, the BWC had been using lino [linoleum], which disintegrates as it is like rubber.'