Anita Sumner
Anita Sumner
Big Waru
Natural raffia & cane, 97.5 x 105 x 4cm, 2024
The Turtle is one of my mothers totems, the sea turtles are respected and sacred to the people of Badu Island in the Torres Strait Islands. The significance of each circle represents families whether small or large and the looping is our connection to each other in the Torres Strait Islands.
Method weaving - Twining the raffia, woven blanket stitch and looping. Strands of raffia twined into lengths then woven into different sizes of circles for the turtle shell and joined together. Cane was used to form a rounded shape/shell to encase the circles and filling in the gaps with looping which represents the webbing designs on a turtle shell.
Anita Wano-Sumner (née Ah Wang), born and raised in Mackay, has always been passionate about handcrafts like crochet, sewing, and now weaving. Since 2012, she has learned traditional Ngarrindjeri (Lakun) weaving with reeds and rushes from South Australian elders. Mentored by Phyllis Williams and Eileen McHughes, Anita travelled across South Australia, gaining insights into weaving practices of Aboriginal communities from SA, Victoria, the NT, and Central Australia. Through Ngarrindjeri weaving, she connects with her Torres Strait Islander heritage, continuing cultural practices passed down by knowledge holders.