Aunty Marilyn Russell, Dark blue shellwork slippers

Artist: Aunty Marilyn Russell
Title: Dark blue shellwork slippers 
Year: 2024
Materials: Shells, glue, velvet, cardboard & glitter
Sizes vary: Approx 130mm long x 70mm wide x 44mm high 

Pls note 10% GST is added to the artwork price at checkout.

Continuing the tradition of shellwork which has been handed down to her from her mother Esme Timbery, Marilyn Russell's work represents her connection to the past and a process of healing. Through these fine art objects, Marilyn keeps Bidjigal women's shellwork tradition alive. 

Tracing back to the early 1880s in the La Perouse area, Bidjigal women created similar items that were sold to tourists visiting the area. Prior to this time, Bidjigal people used seashells to make fish hooks, jewellery (for both men and women) as well as sacred objects. Marilyn is ensuring the longevity of this tradition by passing this practice and cultural knowledge to the next generation, just as her mother Esme did.

Originally established in the late 1800s, La Perouse remains one of Australia’s first Aboriginal missions, now deep in the heart of Australia’s biggest metropolis. 

These distinctive shellwork slippers are hand formed from cardboard, covered in velvet and fabric, and then intricately embellished with shells and glitter. Each pair is unique in their design, shell combinations and patterning.

The slippers represent a memorial to The Stolen Generation. Through the slippers silence and emptiness, they bear witness to the absence of the children who were forcibly removed from their families and community throughout the Twentieth century

https://australian.museum/blog/science/the-sydney-harbour-bridge-and-the-aboriginal-shellworkers-of-la-perouse/