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Esmae Bowen - Ganthin (Cabbage Palm) - Grey, Linen

$435.00

Note: All available-for-purchase artworks featured in The Shape of Time exhibition can be collected at the end of July, 2025.

All Hopevale Arts & Cultural Centre fabrics featured in this exhibition are available for purchase.

The price shown is per 2-metre and can be purchased in even-numbered metres.

 

BIRRANGAY BULILIL (leaves falling) - Hope vale Autumn collection 2025

 

About the Artist - Esmae Bowen 

Born  1956
Language  
Guugu Yimithirr
Totem  
Waandarr (White Cockatoo)

Esmae Bowen (nee Ford), born in 1956 in Hopevale, is a significant historical member of the Hopevale community, having navigated the complexities of recent history that relocated her from her ancestral region. As a descendant of the Stolen generation, her family's history is deeply intertwined with the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians. Her father was taken from Laura in Cape York to the Cape Edward Mission, while her mother hails from Woorabinda in the Rockhampton area. It was there that her parents met before returning to Cape York and settling in Hopevale. Esmae proudly identifies with the Kuku Thaypan clan.

Throughout her life, Esmae has embraced family and community, having fostered two children and now enjoying the company of five grandchildren. While she may not consider herself an artist in the traditional sense, her creative spirit flourishes in various forms.

Esmae began her journey in the arts at the Hopevale Community Arts & Cultural Centre, where she took on the role of collecting materials for the Gamba Gamba arts group, which comprises senior women in the community.

Growing up, she learned from her elders how to gather natural materials and create traditional dyes, skills that she has been able to apply in her work. At the centre, Esmae further developed her artistic techniques, learning how to preserve colors and work with paints and textiles.

Nature serves as a constant source of inspiration for Esmae, as she finds beauty in the forms and colors of the environment around her. “When you see plants and you’re so down and out, the beauty of that plant can lighten your day. A flower can put a smile on my face for the whole day,” she reflects. This profound connection to nature is evident in her artwork, especially in her depictions of baby lady apples (also known as bush apples), painted just before the flower matures into fruit. For Esmae, these apples symbolize her cherished childhood memories of Christmas spent at the beach, evoking a sense of joy and nostalgia.

Esmae Bowen made her debut at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair in 2019, where nine of her works were selected for exhibition, marking a significant milestone in her artistic journey and further solidifying her connection to the broader Indigenous art community.

About the Design - Ganthin (Cabbage Palm)

Ganhthin or the cabbage palm, is used for its the leaves for shelter when out hunting when it’s raining or too hot. The leaves can also be used for weaving too and you can also eat the soft centre.

Material
Silk

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