Lola Greeno
APT9
Born 1946 Cape Barren Island, Tasmania, Australia
Lives and works in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Lola Greeno’s practice includes installation, natural fibre basketry and sculptural pieces using black Tasmanian sea kelp. However, she is best known for her shell necklaces, an art form she learnt from her Palawa Elders in Tasmania. Greeno creates traditional and experimental neck pieces that are celebrated for their unique patterns, sequences and exquisite composition. The shells are painstakingly collected and treated in an intricate process in order to retain their lustre before threading. This knowledge was passed to Greeno from her Elders, who have traditionally collected more than 21 shell varieties to make the necklaces. Greeno’s works represent her unbroken commitment to the art form, also drawing attention to environmental change that threatens the fragile natural ecosystem.
Despite the ravages of colonisation, Tasmania’s Palawa people have made necklaces of lustrous strings of pearlescent shells in an unbroken cultural practice over thousands of years.
Growing up on Cape Barren and Flinders Islands in Bass Strait, Palawa Elder Lola Greeno absorbed the cultural wisdom relating to precise protocols for the making of shell necklaces. The beauty of Greeno’s work lies in her intimate knowledge of the centuries-old cleaning and polishing processes used to reveal the shells’ lustre. With an inherent sense of design, she creates harmonious pairings of luminous colours and perfect forms.
Reflecting the brilliant colours of the sea, multiple strands of each species on display in APT9 emphasise the shells’ particular characteristics: the translucent green/blue of maireener shells, the icy tones of pointed banded silver kelps, the iridescence of abalones, the patterned warrener, and the dense black of crow shells. These beautiful strands require only minimal presentation to highlight
their subtle elegance.
In ancient Palawa tradition, shell necklaces were gifted as a mark of esteem. Over a two-year period, Greeno sourced 143 large and rare king maireener (rainbow kelp) shells for a special commission for Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) to honour international performance artist Marina Abramović. On meeting her, Greeno was satisfied that the intensity of the visiting artist’s personality matched the brilliance of the stunning neckpiece.
Through her practice, Lola Greeno ensures that Tasmania’s uniquely beautiful shells continue to be revered. She teaches others, with great patience and dedication, and engages the support of her family to continue ancient traditions.
