A cultural project that celebrates, preserves and shares the living tradition of Palawa/Pakana shell stringing has opened at The Forest, the University of Tasmania’s CBD campus in Hobart.
Strings of Sea Country – A Story Carried in Shells honours the knowledge and stories passed down through generations of Aboriginal women and families of Lutruwita/Tasmania.
Pakana woman and co-curator Fiona Green says Strings of Sea Country is more than an art project. “This is an act of cultural continuation and renewal. Each shell carries connections to Sea Country, ancestors, community, and identity, reflecting enduring relationships between people, place, and cultural practice,” Fiona said.
“The project provides opportunities for knowledge sharing between Elders, community members, and younger generations, helping to ensure that the cultural practices of kanalaritja remain strong and continue through the hands, hearts, and voices of the people who carry them today into the future.”
Strings of Sea Country – A Story Carried in Shells brings together personal stories and cultural knowledge while raising awareness of the importance of protecting Sea Country and shell habitats.
“Another important aspect of the exhibition is to highlight the cultural protocols that protect this tradition,” Fiona said.
“The strength of our ancestral women carried this practice through colonisation. It’s a practice that must be properly passed down from senior shell stringers to younger women through intergenerational teaching.”
Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous Excellence Professor Sadie Heckenberg says Strings of Sea Country is an honouring of the powerful knowledge of Palawa women.
“This exhibition celebrates knowledge held close to the heart and shared with love and power from generation to generation. Each shell tells a story that has been a part of this beautiful Country since time immemorial and the strength and knowledge of Palawa matriarchs. It is truly an honour for the Institute of Indigenous Knowledges and we thank our donors for their support of this wonderful project.”
The exhibition also aims to raise awareness of an environmental threat to shell beds in the Furneaux Islands. The beds are being monitored by sea rangers who have observed their degradation due to an unidentified disease.
The shell stringers in Strings of Sea Country – A Story Carried in Shells are Aunty Lola Greeno, Aunty Jeanette James, Tanya Harper, Lillian Wheatley, Jazmin Wheatley, Vanessa Greeno, Ashlee Murray, Bianca Templar, Sheryden Greeno, Takira Simon-Brown, Charlyse Greeno and Fiona Green.
The exhibition curators are Fiona Green and Cindy Thomas. The exhibition is open to the public in the library in The Forest, 83 Melville St, Hobart, on weekdays from 9am to 5pm.
Photos by Peter W. Allen
