Rare surviving photographs of traditional carved trees from western NSW will go on public display at the State Library of NSW from 18 April.

 

April 12, 2011: Rare surviving photographs of traditional carved trees from western NSW will go on public display at the State Library of NSW from 18 April.
The exhibition, Carved Trees: Aboriginal cultures of western NSW, is an Australian first. It brings together the few surviving records of a beautiful and largely forgotten Indigenous art form. According to Ronald Briggs, curator and Gamilaroi man (from Moree, NSW), trees have not been carved ceremoniously for at least 100 years. Sadly, only a handful of the sacred trees remain at their original sites.

These carvings were made mainly by the Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi people of NSW to mark the burial sites of significant people. Created by male artists using mostly stone tools, the carvings also marked the sites where boys were initiated into manhood. Traditionally, the carvings were men’s business, and women respected and avoided them.
The exhibition will run from 18 April to 26 June 2011. Entry is free of charge. For opening hours and other information, visit www.sl.nsw.gov.au.