JamFactory ICON Aunty Ellen Trevorrow Weaving Through Time
Aunty Ellen Trevorrow is a proud Ngarrindjeri woman and a prolific, internationally acclaimed weaver with over 40 years of weaving experience. She is best known for her incredible large scale weaving works Kondoli (Woven Whale) and Pondi (Murray Cod), as well as traditional forms such as sister baskets.
Living and working on Ngarrindjeri land in the Coorong, a coastal region 80km southeast of Tarndanya/Adelaide in South Australia, Aunty Ellen harvests and weaves with freshwater rushes. Through the process of weaving, the rushes act like a conduit between weaver, country and the old people. Aunty Ellen speaks often about reminiscing and remembering her Nana and her Aunties - all the old girls - while her hands busily work, creating intricate designs with sedge. Held within each woven object are the stories and the memories of people she has loved, each is a conversation with the ancestors.
JamFactory ICON Aunty Ellen Trevorrow: Weaving Through Time showcases predominantly new works by Aunty Ellen, produced with her long-time collaborator, Dr Jelina Haines. Curated by Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna, Narrunga woman Carly Tarkari Dodd, the exhibition visually and textually documents Aunty Ellen’s evolution as an artist, from her early traditional baskets and fish traps to her recent wearable works, including dresses, jewellery and textiles. These more recent works highlight her two-decades-long collaboration with Dr Haines and demonstrate the depth and breadth of her artistic practice
In Weaving Through Time, Aunty Ellen carries tens of thousands of years of knowledge, passed down from her Elders. Over her lifetime, Aunty Ellen Trevorrow has been a leader, teacher and influential force for Ngarrindjeri culture, impacting the broader South Australia arts ecology through her craft. She has contributed to the cultural and creative development of generations of Ngarrindjeri weavers and artists, continuing an essential legacy: the transmission of culture to future generations, ensuring the continuation of culture.
JamFactory ICONAunty Ellen Trevorrow: Weaving Through Time is a JamFactory touring exhibition assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory board.
Opening event: Saturday 4 July 2026 at 11am. RSVP at www.trybooking.com/DHYZJ
Image: Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, Kangaroo Apple (Solanum lacinniatum) Woven Backpack, 2024, sedge grass; Native Correa (Correa reflexa) Woven Bag, 2024 sedge grass, quandong seeds, photo credit Connor Patterson