Esme Timbery facts for kids
Esme Russell (born Timbery, 14 February 1931 – 6 October 2023) was a talented Bidjigal artist from Australia. She was famous for her amazing shellwork. Her art mixed traditional shellcraft with new, modern ideas. You can find her beautiful pieces in many art museums across Australia.
Esme Russell's Life Story
Esme Timbery was born on February 14, 1931, in Port Kembla. She was part of the Bidjigal Aboriginal people. Esme started making shellwork when she was very young. Her family had been creating shell art for a long time, including her great-grandmother, Emma Timbery. Esme and her sister, Rose, began selling their shell creations in the 1940s.
Esme worked in La Perouse, a place known for its Aboriginal community and shell artists. In 2007, ABC made a special TV show about her called She Sells Sea Shells.
Esme Timbery passed away on October 6, 2023, at the age of 92. She was living in a nursing home on the New South Wales South Coast. She had eight children.
Her Amazing Shell Art
Esme Timbery's art was shown at the opening of the Powerhouse Museum in 1988. In 1997, her work was part of a show called "Djalarinji - Something that Belongs to Us" at the Manly Regional Museum and Gallery. Her art was also in the 2004 show "Terra Alterisu: Land of Another" in Paddington. She also showed her work in 2008 at the Campbelltown Arts Centre in a show called "Ngadhu Ngulili, Ngeaninyagu - A Personal History of Aboriginal Art in the Premier State."
For the Message Sticks Festival in 2001, Esme was asked to create shell versions of the famous Sydney Opera House. These Opera House pieces showed a more modern way of using shellwork. In 2005, she won the NSW Indigenous Art Prize for her wonderful art. She even decorated shoes for a fashion brand called Romance Was Born for their 2009/2010 collection!
One of her important artworks is Shellworked Slippers (made in 2008). It has 200 slippers decorated with shells. This artwork also remembered the Stolen Generations, which were Aboriginal children taken from their families. The piece showed the strength of Aboriginal women. Shellworked Slippers was shown at the Sydney Biennale and is now at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
Three of her shell-decorated Sydney Harbour Bridges are kept at the National Museum of Australia. You can also find Esme Timbery's art at the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Honours and Recognition
A building at the University of New South Wales was named after Esme Timbery. It's called the Creative Practice Lab (ETCPL). The building has a beautiful mural called In her hands. This was a very special honour because it was the first building at the University named after an Aboriginal woman.
In 2020, a river-class ferry that travels on the Sydney Ferries network was also named in her honour.
