Opening 5 – 7pm Saturday 16 August
Numbuh is a fusion of ancient stories and Blak futurism manifested as a wearable art collection by local Indigenous artist Bindimu. It is a call to reconnect Indigenous performers to Country, culture, kin and traditional methods of storytelling. Numbuh, meaning come home or return in Minyangbal dialect, consists of performance and/or traditional attire made from natural materials and fiber processing methods using native, endemic and invasive plant fibers.
Bindimu is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice spans fiber art, sand painting, DJing, soundscapes, and works on canvas and bark. Her work is deeply rooted in the preservation of Indigenous arts in a contemporary colonial landscape. Her work encompasses fiber art, sand painting, DJing, soundscapes, and cultural dance, with a commitment to preserving Indigenous storytelling and creative practices like fiber processing, while engaging with the realities of a colonial environment.
Bindimu was awarded the 2023 Create NSW Arts and Cultural funding to develop her collection Numbuh, exhibited at Boomalli Aboriginal Art Gallery. The collection of wearable art was brought to life by six Indigenous performers, who danced to a soundscape woven from stories, languages, and sounds of Country, drawn from the artist and each performer, representing Anindilyakwa, Zenadth Kes, Yidinji, Gumbaynggirr, and Bundjalung.
The collection is ever-evolving, shaped by seasonal cycles, deep listening to the movement of Country, and the shifting relationship between the artist and Country. Numbuh grows with each iteration, adapting and responding through experimentation.