Lynette Fagan
Title of artwork: Porronggitj
Artist: Lynette Fagan
Year: 2024
Medium: Bronze
Size:
Artist Statement
“Porronggitj was a woman who loved dancing by the water, captivated by the birds’ sounds. One day, a man watching her fell in love and proposed, but she refused, valuing her freedom over marriage and children. The man, claiming to be magic, threatened that no other man could have her. Terrified, Porronggitj fled to her camp, where the men, mistaking her for a Brolga, pursued her. At the water’s edge, she saw her reflection and realized she had been transformed into a Brolga. Other Brolgas, understanding her plight, agreed to teach her their ways in exchange for her dance. This is why the Wadawurrung leave Brolgas undisturbed, honouring Porronggitj’s dance.”
About the Artist
Lynette is a proud Wadawurrung woman living and raising a family in Bendigo on Dja Dja Wurrung Land. A self-taught multidisciplinary artist, Lynette's emerging art practice is versatile, usually mixing realism, western style with traditional techniques to tell a story with each piece.
Lynette work was included in the inaugural exhibition of Bendigo’s First Nations Art Gallery Djaa Djuwima. Commissioned works are held by Anglicare Victoria and in the New Zealand Chief Meetings Building in Greys Beach. Currently Lynette is working on Aboriginal adornments including a Wadawurrung Woman’s ceremonial emu feature skirt, boy possum skin wrist bands and raffia woven earrings for an up-coming exhibition space in Bendigo.