Gunga bathi (pandanus basket)

26.5 x 19 x 25cm, pandanus, 2025.

Milingimbi artists choose to create their woven artworks solely using materials harvested from their homelands. This piece is made from gunga (pandanus).

The new shoots of the pandanus palm are plucked from the central crown of the tree. The fine serrated edges are removed by running a fingernail down each side of the frond, which is then split into two and peeled to expose the inner fibre. Using extensive knowledge of local vegetation, these strips are then dyed using colours extracted from the leaves, roots and bark of selected native plants and left to dry in the sun. Following this lengthy process, the artist weaves the prepared fibres into their desired form.