public program, gallery I

Exhibition: Chantal Henley, Gulayí [Woven Vessel]

Adele Sliuzas ·

Image: Courtesy of the artist

October 20, 2023 - January 19, 2024

Exhibition opening: Friday, October 27, 5:30-7:30pm

Artist Talk: Friday, December 1, 5:30pm

The Exhibition Space, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta

Free entry, all welcome

  • You can find Gulayí in The Mill Exhibition Space, located at 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta (Adelaide).

    The Exhibition Space is open Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm.

    Accessibility

    The Mill has two entrances, the main entrance on the corner of Angas and Gunson Street and an accessible entrance further down Angas Street.

    Both doors are locked from the outside, there is a doorbell on the main door that will alert The Mill team. They will meet you at the accessible entrance to welcome you into the building.

    The Mill has concrete flooring throughout with no internal steps and a disability toilet on site.

    Read more in-depth information on our accessibility web page.

The Mill is excited to present Gulayí [Woven Vessel], a new exhibition by Quandamooka and Mununjali artist Chantal Henley as part of Tarnanthi 2023. Working with textiles, Chantal explores body adornment through garments, sculpture, dance and film, embedding her connection to her Grandmother’s country and her own experience as a mother.

 
 

  • Gulayí [Woven Vessel] is a gathering of exclusively hand woven, hand printed garments and body adornments that highlight the prominence of retaining and reclaiming language, dance, song and design.

    Embellished in gathered fibers, up cycled fabrics, shells, feathers and clay, Gulayí features custom prints that are a direct tribute to my Quandamooka and Mununjali kinship, paying homage to Country and Water through woven techniques reclaimed through the many Gulayí makers that carry and contain the stories of our Elders.

  • Chantal Henley is an Artist & Designer from the Ngugi and Mununjali clans of the Quandamooka and Yugambeh peoples of South - East Queensland.

    From an early age, Chantal connected to culture through Dance and Song and soon became familiar with textiles through both of her Grandmothers, encouraging her to learn various techniques and explore fabrics and fibres.

    Through a brief stay at design school, she explored western design fundamentals and obtained insight into the production and manufacturing processes within the textile and fashion industry, soon deciding to journey elsewhere with her creativity.

    Henley credits her time with master weavers and their unconditional effort to exchange with her through kinship and storytelling, contributing to her ability to regain and retain those Gulayí songlines.

    Chantal carries her strong message of connection and retaining ancestral skills and techniques through her woven Gulayí (bag, vessel) and hand painted Ungarie (Swamp Reed) prints included in her collections and body of work, paying homage to her Mununjali and Ngugi songlines.

    Her textiles and body adornments have been showcased and exhibited by Artisan, National Gallery of Australia, Redland Art Gallery, Jam Factory, Art Gallery Gold Coast and Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair, including publications such as Peppermint & RUSSH Magazine.

    Henley is currently based in Tarntanyangga (Adelaide) Kaurna Yerta with her partner and children.