Regina Pilawuk Wilson Shadows of Shaw

Shaw is a sun mat representing the life given by mirri (the sun) as it moves across the landscape. The sacred, decorative mat is woven by the women of Peppimenarti in the Northern Territory using pandanus strands. The pandanus grows on the banks of the Tom Turner River, which runs alongside the community and casts shadows on the water.

Like the mat, Shadows of Shaw represents the water and the flow of the river through the community. A landscape of pandanus creates reflections on the surface of the water from the life-giving rays of mirri, producing shadows at waltyi or mirri kultyi (sunset). This is a story from my mother’s dreaming.

Regina Pilawuk Wilson, 2017