Ngaarlu’s Woven Artworks Tell Colourful Stories of Water and Connection

Sometimes an artwork makes you feel seen – even held. Ngaarlu’s large-scale woven blankets take that feeling literally.

Ngaarlu – the Gumbaynggirr word for water, pronounced nar-loo – is a homewares and lifestyle brand founded by Gumbaynggirr Bundjalung artist and Wynne Prize finalist Otis Hope Carey and his partner, Sophie Willing. 

A former professional surfer, Carey has long drawn on water as a central theme, tracing its movement and vastness through his striking linework. He’s created an impressive ocean mural for Louis Vuitton and a capsule collection with French footwear house Christian Louboutin, inspired by the motion of waves. 

“The inspiration behind the [woven] works was what inspired me as a child growing up around water,” Carey says.

Ngaarlu’s debut collection, A Story of Seven Currents, features seven 280 x 160-centimetre blankets, each named after a different body of water. These include Nyanggaa (basins and rock pools), Ngaarlu Yuwaarriyay (moving water) and Giilayjun Biliiyaming Nyanuumba (high tide through wetlands).

The idea began in 2019 as a children’s clothing range. But through the sampling process, the duo pivoted to textiles that can be hung as tapestries, draped over armchairs and sofas or wrapped around the body.

It’s a way to make Carey’s artwork more accessible. “If I were to buy one of my artworks, I couldn’t – it’s out of my price range,” he laughs. “I don’t ever do prints, but if I did, it’d be a minimum of $1500 to $3000. So, a $1200 blanket with my art on it, I knew a lot of people would hang them on their walls.”

“They’re still contemporary fine art – just not on canvas,” Willing adds.

Each reversible design is limited to 100 pieces, woven on jacquard looms from 95 per cent cotton, 75 per cent of which is recycled. Designed on Bundjalung Country, they’re produced in a sustainable factory in North Carolina.

The biggest challenge was translating colour into textile form. “The colour Otis would paint on the canvas wouldn’t necessarily be the same colour it would print in cotton,” Willing says. “We had a lot of back and forth to try and get the right depth of colour and keep the design integrity.”

Carey’s personal favourite is the chequered Nyangga blanket, with earthy sand tones on one side and cooler aqua hues on the other. “We had a beautiful photo sent to us of a friend who went to a breathwork event here with Wim Hof, and [had that tapestry] wrapped around him and Wim Hof,” Willing says.

One of the driving reasons behind Ngaarlu was to give back to First Nations communities. A portion of each sale supports Kulai Preschool and The Returning Indigenous Corporation – two grassroots not-for-profits in NSW.

Later this year, the pair will release a limited run of merino wool jumpers featuring Carey’s artworks.

“We’re not a social enterprise, but we are trying to create products that are a legacy [pieces] that people can talk about – and that open conversation,” Willing says.

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