Tag Archives: Koorie

Tabling our differences

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Melbourne-based furniture maker Damien Wright was recently commissioned to make the central table for the new Koori Court in Morwell, Gippsland. The opening was an emotional event. It felt like the two cultures, Koori (indigenous to south-east Australia) and Gubba (word for non-indigenous to those Kooris), were finding a common ground that was even than previously. As the material surface around which those cultures meet to deliberate on their laws, the table plays a critical role in the trust different parties place in the process. Damien sourced a black ‘ancient’ redgum for this purpose. It was launched with a traditional smoking ceremony, which left it strewn with gum leaves. The centre axis embeds electronic outlets. It’s a powerful demonstration of how cultures can meet through craft.

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