New exhibition to showcase fashion inspired ‘from our own backyard’

A model wears a design by Grace Lillian Lee, whose work will feature in an exhibition of indigenous fashion at Bendigo Art Gallery.

In the language of the Kaantju people from East Cape York, the word "piinpi" describes seasonal change and regeneration of country.

"There isn't a western word that translates," explains Shonae Hobson, Bendigo Art Gallery's First Nations curator. "What were seeing across the landscape of Indigenous fashion and textiles today is the traditions … the whole ecology of caring for our country and our land.

"First Nations artists and designers are expressing their culture and connection to Country through very exciting and bold ways – distinct from anything else being produced around the world."

Hobson has chosen Piinpi as the theme and name of the country's first major exhibition of contemporary Indigenous fashion and design, which will open at the gallery in July. "We are starting to see a surge of First Nations designers and artists putting their works out there and getting their work across [to a mainstream audience]," Hobson says.

Events such as the Darwin and Cairns art fairs, as well as social media have helped drive awareness of Indigenous fashion, as have initiatives by the Australian Fashion Council and Australia's major fashion weeks. But Piinpi will be the first time so many pieces, about 70 in total, from such a broad range of artists and disciplines will come together under the one roof.

The exhibition will include works by names including Grace Lillian Lee, Lyn-Al Young and Maree Clarke, as well as arts collectives spanning from Melbourne to some of the country's most remote Indigenous communities.

Hobson said there was an underlying theme of sustainability to many of the works in the show, which makes them incredibly current, while also incorporating traditional techniques, fabrics and stories.

"We're always looking overseas to get inspiration [in fashion], but you just have to look in your own backyard to see the amazing art and practice happening," she said.

Spreading the word about Indigenous design is another way to "encourage people to support not only Indigenous art but the retail aspect of it. Fashion is a great way to educate people, especially of non-Indigenous backgrounds. By wearing a garment, it's very relatable."

The exhibition also marks the launch of the Australian Fashion Collection, an archive to be housed at Bendigo of pieces that exemplify sustainability and innovation, as well as First Nations fashion, although it will not be an exclusively Indigenous collection.

Gallery director Jessica Bridgfoot said it was "only fitting that as an institution we start to build on a collection that preserves and captures key moments in Australian fashion history".

Piinpi: Contemporary Indigenous Fashion opens at Bendigo Art Gallery on July 18.

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