A possum-skin cloak burned, painted and stitched with stories by Logan residents is being shown complete for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
Quandamooka artist Kyra Mancktelow led family members, Elders and people from Logan’s Indigenous and culturally diverse communities in creating the cloak through workshops and yarning circles.
It was still taking shape while Thread: Connecting stories and community was shown at Logan Art Gallery from April to June.
Participants used ochre and burned designs to record stories, relationships and cultural knowledge on legally and ethically sourced possum skins from Aotearoa/New Zealand.
National Portrait Gallery director Bree Pickering said the project placed Logan within a broader Australian account.
“This entirely new way of sharing the collection centres local communities within the national story,” Ms Pickering said.
The Canberra presentation also includes a large portrait by Logan-based Sāmoan/Australian artists Lanatina and Sualauvi Ah Kuoi, depicting a local Elder wearing the cloak and surrounded by community members.
Papercut works by Logan artist Pamela See, also known as Xue Mei Ling, complete the group of locally created pieces.
They are shown alongside portraits of Australians including Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Marcia Langton and David Gulpilil, as well as colonial-era images connected with the suppression of cultural practices such as cloak-making.
Logan-based co-curator Ruha Fifita and National Portrait Gallery curator Dr Emma Kindred said the collaboration uncovered “stories from the collection that were laying dormant”.
The free exhibition continues in Canberra until Sunday 13 September.
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