Clara
Sculpture in Fabric
13.5"
SOLD

Aboriginal women don't usually give out their real name, as the name accesses the spirit, and harm can come to the woman whose name is known and used. When missionaries started passing out European names, the woman accepted them gladly, because it meant they could then talk to each other on a more familiar basis. Clara was herself bereft of her tribe, which had come upon hard times, and she was taken in by neighbours, though on a much lower status than she was used to. Here she sits on a memorial stone of her own poeple, and remembers better years.

Lisa Lichtenfels