Reclaim the Void

Reclaim the Void was born from Ngalia elders in Leonora, Western Australia, expressing their pain and grief at ‘those gaping mining holes left all over our country’.

The idea was conceived by Vivienne Robertson to symbolically ‘seal’ one of the holes with an artwork expressing the story of country.

Country is alive with story, song, dance, law, Tjukurrpa. When we wound country, we wound ourselves, and end up with a scarred physical and cultural landscape. This project carries the desire for healing country, healing community, and healing ourselves. It is about acknowledging the hurt and contributing to restoration. It offers people the chance to learn about country and culture.

The vision is to cover a mining pit with a large-scale ‘dot’ artwork made up of thousands of handmade circular rag-rugs woven from discarded fabric. Woven by people from all walks of life and backgrounds, the rugs will be joined together into a giant textile artwork that shows an overall pattern that carries the story of the Tjukurrpa of the country on which the pit is situated.

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. We invite you to join us.