Lee Darroch
Australian Council of the Arts :
Lee was one of the delegates when the Australian delegation to FOPA 2008 had been chosen to represent "a breadth of talent, artforms and cultural practices from across Australia."
Lee was one of the delegates when the Australian delegation to FOPA 2008 had been chosen to represent "a breadth of talent, artforms and cultural practices from across Australia."
Lee Darroch is a Yorta Yorta woman whose art includes mediums as diverse as possum skin cloak-making, carpet design, pastel drawing, painting, basket weaving, textiles, large-scale public art installations and sculptures.
Lee is guided in her artwork by the old people who have gone before and her elders today. Lee hopes to leave behind a rich legacy for her children and others to follow, so that the Dreaming will continue in an unbroken line.
Lee has been the Koori arts worker practising community arts at East Gippsland Aboriginal Arts Corporation for 10 years. She currently runs her own business; Gurranyin Arts and is a director of Riverbark Arts Pty Ltd and board member of Banmirra Arts, a not for profit incorporated body.
Lee has lived on our Island with her partner and two children for the past 21 years
Lee has been the Koori arts worker practising community arts at East Gippsland Aboriginal Arts Corporation for 10 years. She currently runs her own business; Gurranyin Arts and is a director of Riverbark Arts Pty Ltd and board member of Banmirra Arts, a not for profit incorporated body.
Lee has lived on our Island with her partner and two children for the past 21 years
Currently Lee is showing in the BUNJILAKA Centre
at the MELBOURNE Museum
It says in part
Lee Darroch is a proud Yorta Yorta woman from Dhungula (Murray River). She practices across a wide variety of art media including possum skin cloak making, jewellery making and painting.
Ng woka, woka nganin: I am the land & the land is me is presented as part of the 2008 Birrarung Community Exhibition Program.
See website with further details:
Museum Victoria I-am-the-land-the-land-is-me
Recently Lee prepared an article for OXFAM ( Australia )
Koori possum skin cloaks
It says in part :
Possum skin cloaks are sacred to us as Koori people. Traditionally the manufacture of a possum skin cloak was a laborious process. First, the men of the tribe would hunt the possums. A smoky fire would be built at the base of a tree. The men would then cut toeholds into the tree and climb it to club the possums as they fled the smoke. The men would then skin the possums, scrape the skins clean with mussel shell or stone scrapers and peg them out on a bark board by the fire to slowly dry from the smoke and the sun. Once cured, the skins were incised by the women with sharp mussel shells or stones with special patterns. The incised patterning had significant meaning for it denoted the wearer’s status in the group, their totem, their clan, their tribe, their country and their personal mark. The pelts - as many as 81 - were then carefully stitched together using kangaroo tail sinew and a bone awl.
Traditionally Aboriginal people from Victoria wore possum skin cloaks for a wide range of practical, cultural and spiritual reasons. Possum skin cloaks kept our people safe and warm throughout the colder months. Whole families would sleep under an exceptionally large cloak at night. When our babies were born they were wrapped in a possum skin cloak and carried on their mother’s back. As our children grew into toddlers a special child-size cloak was made for them. This cloak "grew" as the child grew, with more panels being added over time.
Koori possum skin cloaks
It says in part :
Possum skin cloaks are sacred to us as Koori people. Traditionally the manufacture of a possum skin cloak was a laborious process. First, the men of the tribe would hunt the possums. A smoky fire would be built at the base of a tree. The men would then cut toeholds into the tree and climb it to club the possums as they fled the smoke. The men would then skin the possums, scrape the skins clean with mussel shell or stone scrapers and peg them out on a bark board by the fire to slowly dry from the smoke and the sun. Once cured, the skins were incised by the women with sharp mussel shells or stones with special patterns. The incised patterning had significant meaning for it denoted the wearer’s status in the group, their totem, their clan, their tribe, their country and their personal mark. The pelts - as many as 81 - were then carefully stitched together using kangaroo tail sinew and a bone awl.
Traditionally Aboriginal people from Victoria wore possum skin cloaks for a wide range of practical, cultural and spiritual reasons. Possum skin cloaks kept our people safe and warm throughout the colder months. Whole families would sleep under an exceptionally large cloak at night. When our babies were born they were wrapped in a possum skin cloak and carried on their mother’s back. As our children grew into toddlers a special child-size cloak was made for them. This cloak "grew" as the child grew, with more panels being added over time.
Riverbark Arts Pty is a Koori owned and managed company. It runs large-scale projects
in arts and culture, undertakes arts and project management and administration, arts
and cultural consulting, and will manufacture products upon request. Treahna Hammand
Vicki Couzens are the other two Principal Directors of Riverbark Art.
The possum skin cloak is displayed at the Powerhouse Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney for Yinalung Yenu. Lee created this cloak with Vicki Couzens
Riverbark Arts Pty
Contact Lee Darroch
Address 49 First Parade,
Raymond Island VIC 3880
Email leedarroch@optusnet.com.au
Phone (03) 5156 6726
Mobile 0417 160 413
9:00am - 5:00pm, Mon-Fri
-
Project management, arts and cultural
consultancies, public art projects and
large-scale arts projects.
Contact Lee Darroch
Address 49 First Parade,
Raymond Island VIC 3880
Email leedarroch@optusnet.com.au
Phone (03) 5156 6726
Mobile 0417 160 413
9:00am - 5:00pm, Mon-Fri
-
Project management, arts and cultural
consultancies, public art projects and
large-scale arts projects.
The image below is the Aboriginal birth certificate Lee created with Treahna Hamm & Vicki Couzens for Registry Birth, Deaths & marriages
These are the shields & spears at the Birrarung Wilam site behind Fed Square
More about Lee
Festival of Pacific Arts
Lee participated in this event
Festival of Pacific Arts
Lee participated in this event
Australia to share and showcase the best of Indigenous arts in American Samoa at the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts. "
Photo by Zenzi Clark
See website with further details: Australian delegation to FOPA 2008
Tooloyn Koortakay and We're Here exhibitions
at the National Museum of Australia
It says in part :
Pastel drawing of an Old Possum Skin Cloak 1999 by Lee Darroch.
Photos: Dragi Markovic, National Museum of Australia
See website with further details: National Museum of Australia Canberra
at the National Museum of Australia
It says in part :
Pastel drawing of an Old Possum Skin Cloak 1999 by Lee Darroch.
Photos: Dragi Markovic, National Museum of Australia
See website with further details: National Museum of Australia Canberra
Birrarung Wilam (river camp) Park Project
By Vicki Couzens & Lee Darroch Arts Hub |
It says in part :
Victoria’s Indigenous arts sector is under the spotlight today at the Ngoloo Wurru: Deadly Arts Business Gathering, at Gasworks Arts Park. Ngoloo means voice, Wurru means talk in Boonerwrung language, describing the importance of communication and 'both ways learning'.
Treahna Hamm, Vicki Couzens and Lee Darroch, current directors of Riverbark Arts are among those attending.
The artists were commissioned by Melbourne City Council and Aboriginal Affairs Victoria to design, manufacture and install the 'Birrarung Wilam' Aboriginal park at the rear of Federation Square in 2005.
By Vicki Couzens & Lee Darroch Arts Hub |
It says in part :
Victoria’s Indigenous arts sector is under the spotlight today at the Ngoloo Wurru: Deadly Arts Business Gathering, at Gasworks Arts Park. Ngoloo means voice, Wurru means talk in Boonerwrung language, describing the importance of communication and 'both ways learning'.
Treahna Hamm, Vicki Couzens and Lee Darroch, current directors of Riverbark Arts are among those attending.
The artists were commissioned by Melbourne City Council and Aboriginal Affairs Victoria to design, manufacture and install the 'Birrarung Wilam' Aboriginal park at the rear of Federation Square in 2005.
See website with further details: The Birraung Wilam project also Art at the Water front
" WRAPPED IN A POSSUM SKIN CLOAK "
It says in part :
A commitment was made between the women to ensure
their ancestors’ cloaks survived for future generations. Yorta
Yorta women Lee Darroch and Treahna Hamm began working
on a reproduction of the Maiden’s Punt (Echuca) cloak and
Gunditjmara sisters, Vicki and Debra Couzens, started a
reproduction of the Lake Condah cloak. The women also began
creating a series of prints, drawings and other work inspired
by the possum skin cloaks and named their project Tooloyn
Koortakay - a term Vicki Couzens translates as ‘squaring skins
for rugs’
" WRAPPED IN A POSSUM SKIN CLOAK "
It says in part :
A commitment was made between the women to ensure
their ancestors’ cloaks survived for future generations. Yorta
Yorta women Lee Darroch and Treahna Hamm began working
on a reproduction of the Maiden’s Punt (Echuca) cloak and
Gunditjmara sisters, Vicki and Debra Couzens, started a
reproduction of the Lake Condah cloak. The women also began
creating a series of prints, drawings and other work inspired
by the possum skin cloaks and named their project Tooloyn
Koortakay - a term Vicki Couzens translates as ‘squaring skins
for rugs’
See website with further details: NMA press release
The National Museum of Australia
CANBERRA
Extensively covers the activities of LEE DARROCH
See website with furthr details: more about Lee Darroch
CANBERRA
Extensively covers the activities of LEE DARROCH
See website with furthr details: more about Lee Darroch
Island Identities
BENTLEY Bill and Pat
BEESLEY Midge
BOULD Irene
BENNAN Mark
CHAFF-BAG Charlie
COULTER Marj & Keith
DARROCH Lee
EVANS Georgina
FISHER John & Rhondda
FOREMAN Peter
FRECHEVILLE James
GREENAWAY Darren & Susan
HAMILTON David & Judy
HOLBROOK Jack & Cathy
HUGHES Stuart
KENNER Phil
LANGLEY Iris
MANUELL Peter
MARSDEN David & Merle
MARSDEN Dennis & Carol
MARTIN John & Judy
MASKIELL Ron
MOTHERSOLE David & Jo
MEDWIN Bowling Club
MOORE/ McCOLL Kay & Don
MUELLER Willi & Inge
MOUNTAIN Carol
RUTTER Nick & Katherine
RENNICK Judy
REIDY Ian & Robyn
SCARFACE
SIACCI Colin & Wyonne
SIMPSON Donna
TRENERY Ken
UEBERGANG Jill
ROSSETTI Fae
van MANNEN Gerry & Barbara
WILLIAMS Elsie
WILLIAMS Glenn & Bernadette
YOUNG Barbara
