For Mualgal artist Paula Savage, art has been a lifelong passion. Born on Moa Island in the Torres Strait, Paula’s prints and handwoven works are strongly connected to her cultural heritage, traditional techniques, and everyday stories of home.

While art had always been a presence in Paula’s life, it wasn’t until she joined Ngalmun Lagau Minaral (Moa Arts) in 2017 that she began to pursue her own professional art practice. Paula’s first experience of printing was at a workshop run by Dian Darmansjah, an artist and printmaking facilitator, which kickstarted her passion for printmaking.

“When I came in and saw the press, that was a spinout,” says Paula.

At the art centre, Paula was also introduced to traditional drawing, dyeing, and carving but alongside printmaking, she was most drawn to weaving small bags and baskets.

“That’s where I started. It’s traditional but from before-days. We saw collections of the old weavings at the Museum in Brisbane, and they were all one-twist like I do now. It dated back that far. The Papua New Guinea mob are different, and the Pacific mob are different again,” says Paula.

“But the one-twist would have come from Fiji, Solomon Islands. So, you can date it back there because that’s where my ancestors came from on my mum’s side.”

Since 2017, Paula’s beautiful and evocative prints and weavings have gained national recognition. She’s exhibited her work at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF), and Tarnanthi Art Fair, and received the CIAF Innovation Award in 2020 and CICA Lucilla Osborne Memorial Fellowship’s Emerging Artist Award in 2018.

In May 2023, her work titled Home Reefs received the prestigious Melbourne Design Week Award presented by Mercedes-Benz as part of the FOCUS exhibition at the Melbourne Design Fair. The annual prize $5000 prize is announced on the opening day of the Melbourne Design Week and recognises an outstanding contribution to the program.

“Savage’s intricately woven vessels are joyful, innovative and generous. Through them, she shares stories of her home in the Kubin community on Moa Island and the reefs off the coast of Lag Mua,” says Tony Ellwood AM, Director, National Gallery of Victoria. “Paula's work reminds us that contemporary design is at its best when it delights and inspires us to see the world differently.”

The influence of home

Paula’s art practice is influenced by the things that surround her and life on Moa Island. The island’s culture, way of life, and natural environment shape much of Paula’s work.

“It’s the things around me,” says Paula. “I’m on alert the whole time. Always watching, always looking.”

Paula is also inspired by fellow weavers Aunty Aya and Aunty Flora from the neighbouring village of St Pauls, and her late father.

“We travelled most of the time. We’d see things. We’d pick things up. All the time,” says Paula of her father.

Paula’s award-winning handwoven vessels, Dollar Reef, No.2 Reef and No.3 Reef, were made specifically for this year’s Melbourne Design Week. The pieces reference three reefs near Moa Island and capture Paula’s deep connection to Country and remind us to better care for the earth and our oceans.

“The baskets were based on the reefs. They’re markers for us. We use them as markers when we travel, in the daytime we use the reefs and at nighttime, we use the stars. We navigate like that. The colours and the shapes in the baskets are how the reef looks,” explains Paula.

A restorative practice

Making art is a creative outlet that offers Paula a refreshing balance to life’s stresses.

“Every time I get stressed, I put the stress in those bags,” she says. “I have my days where I just cut up things, leave the house messy. And other days it might be something different, like gluing.”

The physical process of weaving also brings Paula joy. “I think it’s the colours. Colour and the feeling of the strings. Because you can feel it when it’s tighter or just slack.”

Looking forward

So, what’s next for Paula?

“I want to work even bigger, get more work on state buildings instead of playing in a small arena. And carpets. I’d like to try carpets, one-twist technique, where it’s woven all over. But more compressed. Different from a Persian rug – an Australian rug!”

However, it’s the freedom to continue to experiment artistically that excites Paula. “If it bounces, that’s okay. But I’ll just keep trying out new things,” she says.

By Lisa Cugnetto