Necklace comes with card featuring the artist’s name and design description. Measures: 76cm with a 38cm drop and with clasp.

Common materials used as beads are the seeds from plants such as Gum Tree (Eucalyptus), Rattlepod (Crotalaria), Red Bead Tree (Adenanthera pavonina), Sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia), Ŋaraka (fish vertebrae) from Parrotfish, Kingfish, small Mäna (sharks) and stingray, and seashells. Gapan (white clay) and natural earth pigments are sometimes used to paint the beads.

Small seeds are pierced with a needle. Large seeds are collected and then a piece of wire is heated in a fire and used to pierce the hole. Seashells are collected at low tide on the surface of the mud amongst the mangroves. Then they are boiled, cleaned and pierced with a piece of wire.

About Candida Mamarika

Candida lives in Umbakumba, and is well known for her beautiful seed and shell necklaces, and plant-dyed textiles.

About Anindilyakwa Arts Centre

“The Land Council started by people coming together to think and talk for the future. They made the art centre in 2005 for all Anindilyakwa people.

Some people were already making art and selling it to Balanda (non-Indigenous people) on the Eylandt. Spears, Woomera, didgeridoo, paintings and baskets.

Now we sell the art to the art centre first, they pay us and sell it on.

The art centre can sell it anywhere, like when we go out to Darwin for the art fair. People love what we’re doing, the bush dye and jewellery.

Balanda (non-Indigenous people) when they buy art straight from our art centre, it’s better. We get good money to build the art centre for the future.

The art centre is for people to come and learn, we learn (teach) new people from the community to make art the old ways.

The art centre is good for community, not everyone is an artist or interested in learning the old ways. It’s important that we teach them so they can make baskets and dilly bags too. The old people left us this for the future.”

- Annabel Amagula, Senior Anindilyakwa Artist

 Priced at: $119 with free shipping on orders over $99