When Dilly Bags Catch the Light

Created through reflection on her time with her mother and her great-great-grandmother’s dilly bags, this installation is about honouring her matrilineal line whilst adapting techniques and materials to make the practice her own. The installation displays three large-scale stylised dilly bags, created with traditionally sourced materials from Minjerribah including quampie shells, tawalpin – cotton tree fibres and yungair freshwater reed, dyed and printed linen and wire. Cockatoo-Collins lives and works on Quandamooka Country, and her practice embodies a deep connection to land, culture and ancestry.

In addition to the main art installation, an array of garments will also be on display from a range of Ms Cockatoo-Collins’ previous fashion runway collections, including garments featured at Melbourne Fashion Festival, Brisbane Fashion Festival, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, and Melbourne Fringe Festival. Make a day (or night) of visiting this installation at Brisbane Quarter. After immersing yourself in the display below, head upstairs and indulge in a premium dining experience.