Kaurna, Narungga, and Ngarrindjeri artist Carly Dodd employs the mediums of jewellery, weaving, and installation to highlight racism and colonialism.
Based on Kaurna Land (Adelaide), Carly Dodd first discovered jewellery in high school through a metalwork class, but while she learned to weave from a young age, she only connected the mediums in 2020.
“I’ve always seen weaving techniques as a means to make functional pragmatic objects and tools. I never saw it as adornment until the past couple years,” says Dodd.
Uniting contemporary and cultural practices, the artist allows her art to call for a cultural reckoning – the inspiration behind the pieces stems from her personal and peers’ experiences. “Racism and the effects of colonization have effects on every Indigenous person,” she says.
As a result, Dodd’s art explores political topics, something she describes as an “easier method of getting a conversation going.” “I’ve found success in using it as a means of generating conversation about important issues that Indigenous people face,” she says. “It’s easy for somebody to look at art and form an opinion, whereas it’s harder to sit somebody down and talk to them about racism.”
Her artwork, Sticks and Stones (2020), uses photography, mirrors and text that reveal racist comments layered onto the viewer’s reflection. “I had put a call out on Instagram for Indigenous people to share racist comments that they had received throughout their life, and there was a lot that was quite hard to read,” she adds.
In the recent series Crown Jewels (2020), Dodd references the British monarchy after researching jewellery the royal family wear. Instead of a direct copy, the artist translated royal iconography into weaved replicates—the result generating discussion, blending her two passions of metal and weaving.
“I have had different conversations with non-Indigenous people and Indigenous people about the idea of wearing woven jewellery inspired by the Royal Family,” she says. “Discussions centre on the jewellery being a symbol of colonization, and most commented that… that in reference to the monarchy is very powerful and reclaims what was taken.”
With the continued injustices facing Aboriginal Australians, Dodd’s art allows for an entry point to remember horrific instances are not isolated. By centring herself and the viewer within her wearable art, she calls on us all to do more and continue the conversation while adding cultural practices to the forefront of contemporary art and design.
Quick questions with Carly Dodd:
It’s your ultimate design dinner party – which four guests are you inviting? Paul McCann, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Denni Francisco and Margaret Rarru Garrawurra.
Favourite artwork? Any grass seed dreaming painting by Barbara Weir. I love the movement, details and stories attached to those pieces.
Favourite quote about design? “Stitch by stitch, circle by circle,weaving is like the creation of life, all things are connected.” Aunty Ellen Trevorrow
