Judy Watson

• Watson often depicts natural or organic objects. What natural materials can you see in her work?
• Look closely at Watson’s string over water (alkurrji kingkarri wanami). What words come to mind when looking at this work?

• In her work, Watson explores ecological issues such as water sustainability. Investigate ways you can save water in your household or school.

Judy Watson uses research as part of her artistic practice to uncover hidden histories about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She has used archived documents in her work and visited the Queensland State Archives to access files about her grandmother, including official documents about Aboriginal people collected in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

• Research how the rights and freedoms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia have changed over time. Is there something you discovered which you didn’t know before? Tip: Use Trove as a research tool.

• Collect natural found objects such as leaves and twigs. Create rubbings (frottage) and stipple paint around the objects like a stencil. Using a long sheet of paper, make a collaborative work of art as a class, with each student adding their frottage and stencils to the composition.
• Find shadows cast outside from tree branches and shrubs. Trace around these shadows using chalk or redraw them on paper. Create a pattern using these shadow shapes.
• Paint fabric with sun dyes (or use other light-sensitive materials). Lay different objects found in nature over the top. Leave your fabric in the sun and see what shapes emerge. Tip: Sunprint paper can be found in art supply shops.
• Create a pose with your body that simulates the movement depicted in string over water (alkurrji kingkarri wanami).
• Experiment with watercolour or ink washes. Allow the paint to dry and continue to add layers to your paper. Use these experiments as backgrounds for your own pen and ink drawings about a place that is special to you.
• Transform a piece of string into a drawing tool – for example, tie knots, attach other pieces of string or fray the ends. Dip your tool into ink and move your string over a sheet of paper. How do your marks differ from those made by others in your class?

The making of string and nets from natural fibres is a recurring theme in Watson’s work and can be seen in string over water (alkurrji kingkarri wanami), 2019.

• Research how string can be made from natural fibres. •Experiment with making your own string from grasses and other found materials.

‘This use of fibre and water as the conduit for catching fish evokes ideas of sustenance, family, culture, survival.’

– Judy Watson

Judy Watson’s cast net, 1990, references the fishing nets used by Aboriginal people living along the Brisbane River and surrounding region.

• Research traditional fishing practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from different regions across Australia. •Explore the different designs of nets, how they were used and what animals they have been created to catch. •Look at other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists who have used natural fibres in their works of art, such as Yvonne Koolmatrie and the Tjanpi Desert Weavers.

A major influence on Judy Watson has been visiting her grandmother’s Country. Watson’s depiction of Country is highly personal and suggests layers of physical and spiritual events across time.

• In spine and teeth (mundirri banga mayi), Watson has used the bunya pine as a symbol to denote the strength and resilience of Aboriginal people. Research the properties and suggest what characteristics of the bunya pine relate to the strength and resilience of Aboriginal people. What other symbolic representations can you identify in Watson’s work? •Watson’s work is multilayered, both physically and conceptually. Experiment with mono-printing techniques. Cover a sheet of acetate or plastic in ink. Draw or place different materials such as string, lace and leaves onto the sheet. Remove the objects and take an impression of this composition by pressing paper onto the surface. Trial layering your prints by repeating this process with different colours and textures. •Create a work of art that relates to your history or a memory of a place. Use symbols to reference these memories and layer your imagery to suggest the passing of time. •Watson often uses projectors to transfer imagery onto her painterly backgrounds. Make observational drawings of your environment. Photograph your work. Project these sketches onto a canvas. Enlarging your sketches will distort your original images. Add to your canvas with stenciling or spontaneous mark-making.

Images of spines and backbones have been a recurring theme in Watson’s work and are symbolic of the Aboriginal women who are considered the backbones of culture. This also references her connection with her grandmother who passed down the knowledge to her family.

• Who is an inspirational woman in your life? What things have you learnt from this person? What are some symbols that could represent this person? Create a work of art that celebrates a woman you admire. Use symbols to tell the story of her strength and resilience.

‘Watson is a collector of imagery, of photographs, drawings and studies she has made of objects found in various national and international collections, which offe historical inquiry, re-contextualisation and critique of the Eurocentric museum systems that removed and continue to hold our objects and old people, the human remains of our ancestors.’

Katina Davidson, Assistant Curator, Indigenous Australian Art, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Artin ‘Judy Watson’, Tarnanthi, AGSA, 2019, p. 132.