I’m Coming back to my Ancestors, Hawk and the Sea Hawk, storytelling on grief and loss.

Alexander Graham Bell once announced, “When one door closes, another opens.”

Radha Lakshmi + Naminapu Maymuru White 2004

While I was grieving the loss of my mother, who died on August 22, 2000, and my second marriage ending, I had a door closing moment. The door opening proceeded with an opportunity to attend an international printmaking workshop conducted by Basil Hall, then head of the Northern Editions Print department at Charles Darwin University, Australia. At this workshop, I met Yolngu artists Naminapu Maymuru White and Boliny Wanambi, and many other gifted individuals working on their journey of personal loss.

While in Australia, I became close to the well-known Yolngu artist Naminapu from Buku-Larrngay Mulka Art Centre in Yirrkala, located in the Northern Territory of Australia. She became an integral person in my grieving for my mother’s death as she and I worked collaboratively. During our work together, Naminapu adopted me as her daughter in her community and gave me a unique name, “Dhumarr,” which in Yolngu languages means Honey Bee. The Aboriginal culture is ancient. Integral to the culture is the concept of Dreamtime.

Working with Nami was a phenomenal experience on a spiritual, emotional, and artistic level. What left an impression on me was that the designs used in our collaboration were part of our daily ritual life. The patterns in the artwork are ideas and concepts that emerge from the legends and stories of South India and Arnhem Land. They represent the connection between women in our families and culture. It was a healing force in coming to terms with my own life’s turning points.

The art ‘The Hawk and the Sea Hawk’ tells the story of my mother (the Hawk) taking me (Dhumarr) back to my Ancestors (Nami)(Australian Goshawk). Through this work, I healed from my losses. The genesis of the print work on the paper shown above is a work based on the fabric art shown below. They were both organic and spiritual.

I had not seen this work on fabric in over 18 years as it was tucked away in a closet in Australia. It remained a memory. However, when it was returned to me very recently by a dear friend, I looked at it with fresh eyes. After all the years, the linkage is stunning and stands the test of time. I invite you to study the elements.

Radha Lakshmi + Naminapu Maymuru White    2004
Radha Lakshmi + Naminapu Maymuru White 2004

The fabric piece above is large in scale-6×6 feet created using natural pigments on fabric. This work surprisingly captured the moods and intersection of our paths. In the above image, dream time exists in the spiritual tones of white, the present blues present physicality with hair on the heads of human kissing, and me in that central darker brown design can be contextualized as my body. The three layers express flow and connection. The fabric art is an intimate piece where instinct.

The various compression of stars creates movement and spatial relationships in the universe throughout the work. It suggests ascendant spirituality and security provided in grief with the silhouette of an embrace from my ancestors or mother. In this version, the collaboration gave me access to my ancestors.

The second attempt was a carving on linoleum for print on paper. Dreamtime space in the second composition is rendered in Nami’s printing style. The various compression of stars creates movement and spatial relationships throughout the work. The mirror quality of the two images suggests a point of view. The left fabric print looks out to the physical organic world while the print view looks into the Dreamtime landscape.

Progression of Work and Concepts

Naminapu is a well-established Yolngu artist from Yirrkala, and she and I worked collaboratively. This experience was phenomenal, and so many spiritual things happened. What left an impression on me was that the designs used in this collaboration were part of our daily ritual life. The patterns in the artwork are ideas and concepts that emerge from the legends and stories of South India and Arnhem Land. They represent the connection between women in our families and culture.

The linkage is stunning after all the years. It stands the test of time. Therefore, I invite you to study the elements for yourself.