Stories You Wear: Magpie Goose, an exclusive-to-Brisbane exhibition, offers a delightfully refreshing entry into Indigenous culture, through powerful storytelling well-represented by vibrant modern-day fashion wear.
Curated by Museum of Brisbane (MoB), in close collaboration with leading Aboriginal-owned fashion label Magpie Goose, it presents the work of talented First Nations artists and designers in Queensland and beyond. The brand name, Magpie Goose (murnubbarr), refers to the waterbirds found in Kakadu and Arnhem Land.
Magpie Goose: beginnings
Starting life in the Top End in 2016, Magpie Goose has created work opportunities for creative artists from regional and remote communities in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
Its early success saw its transition to full Aboriginal ownership in 2021 with local owner-entrepreneurs, Amanda Hayman (Wakka Wakka and Kalkadoon) and Troy Casey (Kamilaroi) subsequently basing the company in Yuggera and Turrabal Country (Brisbane) and opening a flagship outlet that retails the Magpie Goose label.
Hayman and Casey are passionate about creating a platform upon which artists can share their culture and experiences with a wider audience. They are driven to create positive outcomes through economic opportunities for independent artists and Aboriginal businesses alike.
Almost ten years from modest beginnings, Magpie Goose’s growth has been exponential, the label having collaborated with an impressive 70 artists from 13 regional and remote communities.
Magpie Goose: beautifully designed exhibition
Stories you Wear showcases examples of garments alongside Magpie Goose’s wide-ranging body of work in a carefully crafted, beautifully designed exhibition. Working closely with Hayman and Casey, MoB designer Melissa Blight and curator Elena Dias-Jayasinha have created a visual feast of the clothing and artefact collections combined with excellent explanatory panels.
The exhibition space is divided into three distinct and customised parts, while offering balance and equity in the displays, ensuring that no one artist is more prominent than another. This creates a pleasant equilibrium across the space.
First, there is a welcome space to greet and draw in viewers, evolving into the wider community with examples from artwear collections across eight Australian regions. The second part defines strong local collections across South-East Queensland. Thirdly, there is a fascinating section on the extensive production process involved in sourcing, creating, collaborating and delivering.
The first section offers splendid, mostly brightly coloured, garments displayed on quality plinths, with projected images and stunning blown-up photographs taken on Country to show garments on models in situ. Imagery and colours used by artists are mostly inspired by the flora and fauna of Country, from which their heart-felt stories are derived. Birds, fish, animals, plants and flowers, fruits and seeds, billabongs and waves – all feature prominently.
The second section concentrates on collaborations with local artists from two South-East Queensland regions. Jinibara, which stretches across the Blackall Ranges and the Glasshouses Mountains, displays its collection utilising lawyer vine and bunya wood to great effect. Works by Elder Uncle Noel Blair and Jason Murphy are included.
Meanwhile the collection from Quandamooka in Moreton Bay shows clothing designed by Sonja Carmichael, Belinda Close and emerging artist Mahala Burns, among others.
This collection includes organic features of whitened driftwood and rocks gathered from North Stradbroke Island after the recent cyclone. Evocative of the seashore and island, these are a poignant reminder of time and place and a great addition to the vivid imagery of the exhibition.
Thirdly, the Production process explains the detailed ethical and sustainable work practices that are embedded in every stage of the development of a Magpie Goose collection and its commitment to respecting people and our planet.
All garments are designed, hand-screen printed and ethically manufactured in Australia. They are produced from biodegradable environmentally appropriate materials; nothing is wasted and all offcuts are repurposed to make accessories.
Overall, this is an exciting and informative exhibition that offers viewers a rich and varied potpourri of local stories, drawn from life experiences and connection to Country. It demonstrates how First Nations artists can effectively communicate culture and storytelling to communities across Australia through the wider medium of visual art and, in this particular case, wearable art.
Stories You Wear: Magpie Goose is at the Museum of Brisbane (MoB), City Hall, Brisbane until Autumn 2026. Free entry.
