Esme Timbery (born 14 February 1931 and also known by her married name, Russell) is an Australian

Bidjigal The Bidjigal (also spelt Bediagal, Bejigal, Bedegal or Biddegal) people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are modern-day western, north-western, south-eastern, and southern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

shellworker. Timbery's shellwork has contemporary elements, blended with the traditional medium. She has work in the collections of several art museums throughout

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Biography

Timbery was born in 1931 in

Port Kembla A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

and is of

Aboriginal heritage. Timbery began to create shellwork at a young age. She comes from a long line of shellworkers, including her great-grandmother, Emma Timbery. Timbery and her sister, Rose, began to sell their shellwork in the 1940s. Timbery currently works in La Perouse.

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

produced a documentary about her in 2007, titled ''She Sells Sea Shells''.

Work

Timbery's work was exhibited at the 1988 opening of the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Park, Sydney, Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle ...

. In 1997, her work was exhibited at the Manly Regional Museum and Gallery in the show, "Djalarinji - Something that Belongs to Us." Her work was included in the 2004 show, "Terra Alterisu: Land of Another" held at the College of Fine Arts in Paddington. She also exhibited in the 2008

Campbelltown Arts Centre Campbelltown Arts Centre (C-A-C or CAC) is a multidisciplinary contemporary arts centre located in Campbelltown, New South Wales, south west of Sydney, Australia. It is a cultural facility of Campbelltown City Council, assisted by other governm ...

show "Ngadhu Ngulili, Ngeaninyagu - A Personal History of Aboriginal Art in the Premier State." For the Message Sticks Festival in 2001, Timbery was asked to create shellworked versions of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

. The Opera House pieces reflect a more contemporary use of shellworking. In 2005, she earned the NSW Indigenous Art Prize for her work. She also decorated shoes for the design label, Romance Was Born for their Spring/Summer 2009/2010 collection. Timbery's piece, ''Shellworked Slippers'' (2008) is made up of 200 scuffs embellished with shellwork. The piece is also a memorial to the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church miss ...

. The piece was exhibited at the

Sydney Biennale The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and ...

and is in the collection of the

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), located on George Street in Sydney's The Rocks neighbourhood, is solely dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting, and collecting contemporary art, from across Australia and around the world. It is ...

. ''Shellworked Slippers'' also represents the strength of Aboriginal women. Three of her shellworked Sydney Harbour Bridges are part of the collection of the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

. Timbery also has art at the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

and the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

Honours

A building at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

has been named in honour of Timbery, the Creative Practice Lab (ETCPL). The building is decorated with a mural titled ''In her hands'' and it is the first building at the University named after an Aboriginal woman.

References

External links

The Aboriginal shellworkers of La Perouse, Sydney: Esme Timbery and Marylin Russell
(2015 video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Timbery, Esme 1931 births Artists from New South Wales Indigenous Australian artists 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian artists 21st-century Australian artists 21st-century Australian women artists Living people Australian artisans Shell artists