Rug, Wall Hanging, S, Wool, 2024 Aboriginal Design, Chainstitch, Kashmir, Australia, Fair Trade, Andrea Adamson, Seven Sisters, Living Room, Home
These beautiful woollen embroideries work equally well as floor rugs and wall hangings.
Chain-stitched kilims are a traditional rug making technique from Kashmir. As people sat on the floor they were both homewares and decoration.
The designs are by Australian Aboriginal artists, they are then chain-stitched in wool onto a canvas backing each cushion cover is an interpretation of an original artwork, usually a painting.
Front of each rug is wool embroidered onto a cotton canvas and back is cotton canvas with a non-slip surface.
Each rug has a flap on one of the shorter sides for hanging portrait style, simply slide a piece of dowel or curtain rod in and hang. As the artworks are painting on the ground most of the images do not have a set orientation so can also be hung landscape if preferred.
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These are surprisingly hard-wearing and I use them as both rugs and as and beautifully textured affordable works of art.
Limited Edition: Each rug is individually numbered and shipped with an individual document of Authenticity that gives provenance. No more than 100 rugs will ever be made in this design and size.
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Artist: Andrea Adamson Tiger from
Title: Kungkarangkalpa Tjukurpa (Seven Sisters Creation Story).
This is one of my absolute favorite rugs ever.
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SIZE:
Rectangular: 61 cm (24 inches) x 91.5 cm (36 inches)
Composition: wool (front) and cotton (back)
Color: the color is accurate but more nuanced in real life
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CARE INSTRUCTIONS:
Do not put place/use in direct sunlight or colors may fade. To clean - careful hand-wash in warm water using a wool detergent. Can be ironed on a wool setting.
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The artist: Andrea Adamson Tiger has a distinguished artistic family and strong cultural connections to her family homelands around Amata on the APY Lands. Her aunt Rini Tiger and her grandfather Tiger Palpatja are significant painters of the Anangu Creation stories. One of the major Dreaming tracks or songlines on this Country is the Seven Sisters Tjukurrpa. This story forms the basis for many of the paintings by Andrea Adamson.
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About the design: Kungkarangkalpa Tjukurpa (Seven Sisters Dreaming)
The Seven Sisters songline crosses traditional Country of many different language groups. At prominent landscape features along the Dreaming track are Creation sites that are celebrated in song and in painting. Andrea creates these landscapes and tells the story of 2024 the Seven Sisters as they move from east to west on their journey. Her richly coloured paintings depict the rocky outcrops and the sandhills and rockholes created by the Seven Sisters. These Ancestors are represented in the sky by the Pleiades star constellation which emerges from the horizon every night to make the epic journey.
This is the story of the seven sisters. The sisters fled from Wati Nyiru creating the country and landscape around Andreas home, Mala. They created the rockholes, sandhills and rocky outcrops as they tried to escape. The women flew up into the sky. Now, Wati Nyiru can be seen as Orion in the sky and the sisters are the Pleiades constellation.
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About the BWA chainstitchh kilim products
These beautiful, unique textiles are a cross-cultural collaboration combining Aboriginal designs and traditional Kashmiri rug-making techniques. Chain stitched, using hand dyed wool, each is a completely handmade piece. A more empowering way to work, this brings many direct benefits to the artists' and their community. Control and ownership of intellectual property are also maintained. Purchase of these products guarantees a direct return to the Aboriginal artist and their community.
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About my connection wtih Better World Arts
I met founder of BWA in 2004 whilst doing a consultancy in the APY Lands preparing marketing plans for five art centres for Ananguku Arts. I was gobsmacked by this terrific fair trade project that Kaltjiti Arts was then doing with Caroline Wilson. As a textile nut, the artisan skills and use of wool appealed to me and the rendering of Indigenous designs in rugs and cushion covers is so lovely. I later encouraged them to work with other art centres and introduced them to Warlukurlangu Artists and Injalak Arts. Flick (founder of Flying Fox Fabrics)
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BWA
Better World Arts has been operating for over two decades. Our role models were Oxfam, Fred Hollows (the Fred Hollows Foundation) and Anita Roddick (The Body Shop).
We work with traditional artisans from remote regions in Kashmir, Peru, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal (Tibetan refugees). More recently we have started working with China, making bone china and silk ties.
We work with Australian AJ boriginal artists from remote communities across Australia, from Arnhem Land to Central and the Western Desert regions, from rural locations and from cities.