Maree Clarke - Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung multi-disciplinary artist - presents a group of newly made supersized scale Reed Necklaces. Their giant size pays tribute to the cultural strength that the original object holds, compelling us to notice its beauty and the power of its story, and to also acknowledge the scale of the loss felt by her people.

Clarke's research into the history of these objects has seen her travel extensively nationally and internationally to research and investigate holdings of cultural materials in institutional and private collections. With this background, Clarke was invited to visit Canberra and spend time on Country with the Ginninderry reed necklace that was made in 1862 by Aboriginal girls and gifted to Emma Minnie Palmer on the eve of her wedding. The necklace is now on display in the Canberra /Kamberri exhibition on loan from Catherine Palmer.

Maree Clarke (born 1961) is a Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung multi-disciplinary artist and curator based in Naarm/ Melbourne. Over the past thirty years, Clarke has been a pivotal figure in the reclamation and reverification of Southeastern Aboriginal cultural material objects, including possum skin cloaks, kangaroo teeth necklaces, and river reed necklaces.

This project has been developed by Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG) with the support of the Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University 2024 Everywhen Fellowship Awarded to Maree Clarke and by Canberra Glassworks and Ginniderry Trust. We acknowledge the kind assistance of the owner of the Ginninderry Necklace, Catherine Palmer, for her assistance with this project. Maree Clarke is represented by Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne.