A Story of Seven Currents
Ngaarlu – the family-owned design house co-founded by Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung artist Otis Hope Carey and his partner Sophie Willing – is launching its debut collection of woven blankets, A Story of Seven Currents.
There is a calm strength in Carey’s artwork, a pulse that moves like water. With the release of Ngaarlu’s debut collection of soft textiles, that same energy takes on a new, tactile form. “Ngaarlu is a contemporary art and design practice led by spirit, grounded in ancestral storytelling,” says Carey. “Our products are living vessels – intentional, functional and infused with feeling.” Based in culture, craft and community, the practice emerges from the shared creative vision of Carey and Willing.
The debut collection, launching on 18 November, includes seven woven blankets, each created as a limited series of 100 and featuring one of Carey’s original artworks. A Story of Seven Currents expands on the artist’s long engagement with Gaagal (the ocean), a spiritual totem that continues to shape his painting practice. With his signature bold, kinetic linework, Carey draws on tidal patterns and ceremonial dance to capture the energy that moves between people and Country.
Each piece is named for a different current of water, forming a poetic journey across sea and spirit: Nyanggaa (basins/rock pools), Ngaarlu Yiiliwiyay (dancing water), Gaagalu Darrunday (ocean making good medicine), Ngaarlu Yuwaarriyay (moving water), Muurlay Giduurr (sand track/path), Giilayjun Biliiyaming Nyanuumba (high tide through wetlands) and Jijimam (lilly-pilly). Designed to be treasured, lived with and passed down, they act as contemporary conduits for ancestral stories.
Woven on jacquard looms from 95 per cent cotton – with 75 per cent recycled – and 5 per cent polyester, the pieces are designed on Bundjalung Country and produced in North Carolina. Rendered in earthy, tonal hues of muted blue, dusky pink, ochre brown and deep green, with a reversible design, the blankets can be hung as large-scale tapestries, used as soft furnishings or wrapped close to the body.
A key part of Ngaarlu’s magic is the fusion of Willing’s fashion background, Carey’s deep connection to culture and their shared love of family. Purpose also sits at the heart of the venture. A percentage of each sale will support two grassroots organisations that nurture Indigenous women, Elders and future generations – Kulai Preschool and The Returning Indigenous Corporation.
While Carey is best known for painting, his practice also extends to bark works, sculpture and murals, collaborations with high fashion houses Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin and Longines, and special projects for Billabong, Capella Hotels and National Geographic. Ngaarlu marks an important next stage in his practice – a way of carrying culture and ceremony into daily life.
