Paper short abstract:

Fashion designers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson are credited for the rise and success of Aboriginal textiles in 1980s. I explore the effect of external markets and artistic trends on the emergence of Aboriginal screen-printed textiles, questioning whether it was Aboriginal- or fashion-industry led

Paper long abstract:

Aboriginal screen-printed textiles came to prominence in the early 1970s, led by Tiwi Designs of Bathurst Island (NT) and followed by a succession of small screen-printing initiatives from across the Top End. Simultaneously, Sydney's fashion designers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson received national and international acclaim with their use of Aboriginal motifs and Australiana designs. Aboriginal Art Centres such as Bathurst Is., Gunbalanya, Yuendumu and Utopia collaborated with Kee and (in particular) Jackson in the 1970s to 1990s. Such collaborations led to Kee and Jackson being credited for the rise of Aboriginal textiles in the national fashion industry in the 1980s (Manyard 2000; Newstead 2014).

A central question underlying this claim is whether the emergence and successes of Aboriginal textiles was (and still is) Aboriginal-industry led or fashion-industry led. Drawing on Miller and Küchler's (2005) agency of cloth and material culture, I explore the effect of external market forces and artistic trends on the emergence of Aboriginal screen-printed textiles and evolution of the designs. This presentation draws upon the historical terrain of Injalak Arts (Gunbalanya, western Arnhem Land) and Tiwi Designs (Bathurst Island, NT) silk screen-printing enterprises focusing on emergent years from 1970s-1990s. It builds on an instigation of the oral history of Injalak Arts (NT) and research on Injalak Arts' Textile archive recently donated to Museum Victoria.