arts

Powerhouse Museum acquires ‘Ngabu’ creation by Aunty Lola Ryan

Phoebe Blogg Published May 6, 2025 at 5.15pm (AWST)

Aunty Lola Ryan with Nathan Mudyi Sentance (Head of Collections, First Nations) and Tammi Gissell (Collections Coordinator, First Nations). (Image: Powerhouse Museum)

After a successful exhibition at Walah Bay Arts Precinct, this month Powerhouse Museum - custodian to over half a million objects of national and international significance - has announced that it will be acquiring the Ngabu art piece created by Dharawal Elder and artist Aunty Lola Ryan.

Ngabu is a giant shell art bridge created by Ryan which has shown as a temporary public artwork in Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. Curated and produced by Sydney-based arts organisation City People, Ngabu (meaning Nan / Grandmother in Dharawal) was a homage to the shellworked harbour bridges created by the artist's mother Lola Delia Ryan and her aunty Mavis Longbottom – which were also acquired by the Powerhouse Museum in 1986.

The installation references Buri-buri, the humpback whale who travels up and down the Eastern coastline, and shell art traditions dating back to the 1800s.

When speaking on the creation of Ngabu, Ryan said that shell art is a tradition that has been passed down for generations, which she hopes to keep alive.

"Shell art is a tradition passed down for generations to our mob. But it's become a dying art. Not many young people are continuing it, and I want to keep that tradition alive," she said.

First Nations Powerhouse collections coordinator Tammi Gissell expressed her excitement surrounding Ngabu coming to Powehouse.

"We are thrilled that Aunty Lola's Ngabu is coming into our care here at the Powerhouse. Ngabu is an intrepid re-imagining of the shellworked harbour bridges made iconic by her mum Lola Delia Ryan and Aunty Mavis Longbottom.' 'Aunty Lola remembers coming to shellworking classes that her mum and aunty taught at the Powerhouse as a child," she said.

"Being able to bring - almost three decades later – Aunty Lola's own large scale interactive shell art into the Powerhouse collection to join those crafted by her mum, aunty and generations before that, is a profound testimony to the enduring legacy of shell art from the La Perouse community and how new technologies can be utilised in respectful service of traditional expressions of culture."

*Aunty Lola Ryan, Ngabu, 2025, public artwork; Walsh Bay, Sydney. (Image: supplied)*

Ryan is a Dharawal Elder, artist and community leader born in Sydney. One of ten children, her family comes from the La Perouse Aboriginal community and until after the referendum in 1967, all lived on the La Perouse Aboriginal mission.

Ryan is and has always been passionate about supporting her community, she works closely with the Gujaga Foundation, the peak organisation leading language, cultural and research activities within the La Perouse Aboriginal community. She has also been the Aboriginal Health Worker - Child and Family Health for the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District for over 20 years.

Ryan hails from a long lineage of esteemed Dharawal shell artists from La Perouse, her mother Lola Delia Ryan, aunty Mavis Longbottom and grandmother 'Ma Page' were all shell artists.