Reclaim the Void

In Australia we’ve dug 50,000 holes across sacred land. We dump 500,000 tonnes of fabric and clothing every year. Can we give our hands and hearts in healing to create 5,000 rugs to seal one hole?

Reclaim the Void 2024

This is the question asked by conceptual artist and creative director Vivienne Robertson and Kado Muir a Ngalia Custodian, artist, anthropologist, archaeologist and cultural and community leader from the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Vivienne & Kado are the project partners and driving force behind environmental art installation, Reclaim the Void.

The answer from the children… a resounding ‘Yes! We can!’  The future is bright.

The vision and process of Reclaim the Void is wild, flowing and awe-inspiring, and to receive a very special video invitation from Kado, who while standing on his beautiful Country, explains the project and invites all the children to come together and join the project, had children from across all neighbourhoods, enthralled, poised and empowered to act.

About Reclaim the Void

https://www.reclaimthevoid.com.au

Reclaim the Void is a bold cross-cultural project. It seeks to raise awareness of the story of Country and its importance in Aboriginal culture in both its physical and spiritual dimensions. It is a project of reconciliation, healing and hope. The project was born from Ngalia elders in Leonora expressing their pain and grief at ‘those gaping mining holes left all over our Country’. The idea was conceived to symbolically ‘seal’ one of the holes with an artwork expressing the story of Country.

The project is a collaboration between Creative Director Vivienne Robertson and the Ngalia Heritage Research Council (Aboriginal Corporation) represented by cultural custodian Kado Muir, who is overseeing all cultural aspects of the project.The vision is to lay a large-scale ‘dot’ artwork on country affected by mining. The artwork will be made up of thousands of handmade circular rag-rugs woven from discarded fabric by people of all ages and from all walks of life. The rugs will be joined together to form the giant textile artwork (RV 2024).

To contribute to the project, students are engaged in learning weaving and rug-making techniques, and the rugs we create will form part of the final art installation. The project is also developing a digital ‘rugalogue’ which will include selected stories from students about  their experience of weaving a rug to contribute to the project.

About PHPS ‘Rug Hub’

We are welcome rugs from everyone! Make one, make many!

The art room will be a collection point for completed rugs. If you would like to contribute, your child can teach you how to construct and warp up a circular loom & the specific weaving technique. Written weaving instructions can be found here and also in PHP Drive: Student Share> 2024> 3-4N & 5-6N> Visual Arts> Term 2.

You will need the following: 

• hula hoop or recycled poly piping/bamboo for creating circular loom 
•   recycled non stretch 100% natural fibre fabric. Ie., old bed sheets/doona/ covers/clothes to rip up and weave
• scissors
• relaxing time 🙂

If you have your own materials you can work on your own individual rag rug. Otherwise you can contribute to our communal rugs that are already in progress by working on them across weekends. Materials and communal rugs can be collected from the art room on Thursdays at the end of day. Please return them Monday or Tuesday morning before 9am so that we can keep ‘the hoops in the loop.’

‘Give a sheet’ for Country & the Planet

The visual arts program is asking, where possible, for donations of long lengths of non-stretch woven fabrics( 100% natural fibre). Recycled cotton sheets, doona covers work well.