A yarn with Yuwi Traditional Owner Irene Adams of A4E Synergy
A4E Synergy is about exploring, connecting, co-creating and being free, as we return our spirit to a place of balance, love and empowered nurturing by these actions immersing ourselves with country, being in our oneness with source in nature in our true giving and nurtured reciprocal relationships.
Every creation weaves together a little cultural knowledge, personal wellbeing and sustainable practices. Each seasonal collection focuses on our core spiritual significance of “Nan-dhi Udya Ng-ia” (Country Nurtures Me - Yuwi language) and each is imbued with a focus of intention aligning to Universal Laws, promoting balance, wellbeing and positive practise.
At CIAF your fashion collection was called ‘Nan-dhi’s Unconditional Love (Country’s Unconditional Love)’
Nan-dhi's (Country's) Unconditional Love collection showcases her resilient divine feminine loving embrace, here in her majestic beauty, supportive strength and healing power.
This collection encompasses and shares the heart of country in her grace from our soul soaking saltwater eastern islands and beaches through to the serene western head waters of our ranges, rainforests and fresh waterfalls. Resilient, Healing, Replenishing, Empowering.
Collection materials and techniques
Nan-dhi's Unconditional Love collection consists of eco-printed and hand dyed silks and natural fabrics of various types and combinations from which the flora of cultural places through to the story are told on the articles in each ensemble.
Nan-dhi's (Country's) Unconditional Love collection speaks through the colours of the natural dye and flora in the organic eco-print style and tones of country's divine feminine energy in the lighter to stronger pink and blue hues of the fabrics.
In the co-creation the Elder Trees also spoke to be included, and so it is that the “Elder Tree Bark” seasonal prints led and closed the collection. Each ensemble tells of country from our saltwater islands and beaches in the tidal style stitching through to the head waters of our range's freshwater waterfalls in the flowing cascading chiffon silk pieces incorporated.
The collection called to have a sustainable focus of adjustable sizing and use of natural fibres or fittings where able, making it a slow fashion collection.
Outfits
1 & 2 call on our ancient connection to spirit of the sea and land.
3 & 4 call on the sacred spirit of cultural burn knowledge followed.
5 & 6 show the regeneration, balance & nurturing following the repatriation of this cultural practise here on Yuwi country.
7 & 8 tell of thriving through restoration of our cultural responsibility in the return of caring for country.
9 & 10 celebrate the now, all the beauty, power and radiance of people and country today in the remembering, knowing and anchoring deep within our core the wisdom and love of our ancient ancestral lineage nurturing us and guiding us forward.
You mentioned creating fashion opportunities on Country - what would you like to see?
From the first outfit I made from my precious eco prints, I knew then that we were being supported and it was necessary to show these back and to be shared within our community, a positive opportunity through art and fashion to respectfully tell our story since our Native Title Consent Determination in 2020.
So we have formed an unofficial little working group of women including other creatives off country to work on bringing this to fruition. We see it as an opportunity to have our younger community join and workshop alongside us to construct and input fashion items for the event.
Ideally it would be lovely to create an annual event that could be expanded over time much like CIAF. We are firstly wanting to activate our community cultural art space to kick start all this off and so we are working with our Yuwi Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC towards this.
Another part to our cultural arts that we are currently discussing is the development of a project around the repatriation of our cultural heritage artefacts and practises as a path to restoring balance and bring healing.
Kowa collaboration sponsored the Sustainable
Adornment Award -
your adornments were so detailed and integral to all your pieces, what was the process of creating these pieces?
There are a few steps in the co-creation process some of which are repeated in a cycle.
1. Connecting and collecting nature’s treasures –
Years of collecting gifted treasures from country and this is done when immersing and connecting to the spirit of Nan-dhi. Allowing and trusting the connection, then that inner listening and communication, then actioning on the communication, is the process that enables being there at the right time to receive these gifts.
I am still in awe when this exchange takes place, truly overflows my heart and I then become the giver – the most sacred beautiful reciprocal relationship there for all.
I volunteer with our local Mackay and District Turtle Watch, walking the beach each day for the 5 - 6months and together us Yuwi women gather whenever we are out partaking in our On Country Projects.
I have also been gifted some very rare treasures from dear friends once they became aware of my practise, something I am so grateful for. All these pieces hold memory and the wisdom in that time as they become focal either in a headpiece or staff to specifically convey and share that story.
2. Consult (with my team in spirit) on Focal idea of the headpiece
3. Consult (with my team in spirit) on Focal parts of the headpiece which also guide the shape/style.
4. Lay all the key treasures out to see aides with building the mind’s picture – ensuring a variety of textures, shapes, colours, sizes considering weight for headpieces.
5. Begin constructing starting with the larger base elements
6. Then there is a point of flow where treasure by treasure it builds quite quickly at times with maybe a tweak here and there later on.
There’s a few steps in the co-creation process some of which are repeated in a cycle
1. Connecting and collecting nature’s treasures –
Years of collecting gifted treasures from country and this is done when immersing and connecting to the spirit of Nan-dhi. Allowing and trusting the connection, then that Inner listening and communication, then actioning on the communication, is the process that enables being there at the right time to receive these gifts.
I am still in awe when this exchange takes place, truly overflows my heart and I then become the giver – the most sacred beautiful reciprocal relationship there for all.
I volunteer with our local Mackay and District Turtle Watch, walking the beach each day for the 5-6months and together us Yuwi women gather whenever we are out partaking in our on Country Projects.
I have also been gifted some very rare treasures from dear friends once they became aware of my practise, something I am so grateful to.
All these pieces hold memory and the wisdom in that time as they become focal either in a headpiece or staff to specifically convey and share that story.
2. Consult (with my team in spirit) on Focal idea of the head piece
3. Consult ( with my team in spirit) on Focal parts of the head piece which also guide the shape/style.
4. Lay all the key treasures out to see aides with building the minds picture – ensuring a variety of textures, shapes, colours, sizes considering weight for headpieces.
5. Begin constructing starting with the larger base elements
6. Then there is point of flow where treasure by treasure it builds quite quickly at times with maybe a tweak here and there later on.