JamFactory ICON 2025 Aunty Ellen Trevorrow:
Weaving Through Time
JamFactory’s ICON series celebrates the achievements of South Australia’s most influential visual artists working in craft-based media. Aunty Ellen Trevorrow is a proud Ngarrindjeri woman and a prolific, internationally acclaimed weaver with over 40 years of weaving experience. Weaving through Time is a celebration of Aunty Ellen’s unwavering dedication to culture, community and innovation in contemporary Ngarrindjeri weaving.
Curated by Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna, Narrunga woman Carly Tarkari Dodd, Weaving Through Time showcases predominantly new works by Aunty Ellen, produced with her long-time collaborator, Dr Jelina Haines. The exhibition visually and textually documents Aunty Ellen’s evolution as an artist, from her early traditional baskets and fish traps to her recent large-scale sculptures and wearable works, including dresses, jewellery and textiles. These more recent works highlight her two-decades-long collaboration with Dr Haines and demonstrate the depth and breadth of her artistic practice.
In Weaving Through Time, Aunty Ellen carries tens of thousands of years of knowledge, passed down from her Elders. Her work continues an essential legacy: the transmission of culture to future generations, ensuring the continuation of culture.
The exhibition will be launched at JamFactory Adelaide as part of SALA Festival before touring to JamFactory Seppeltfield for Tarnanthi, followed by 6 venues nationally across SA, VIC, NSW and QLD. It is accompanied by a 120-page monograph, supported by the Gordon Darling Foundation and written by Carly Tarkari Dodd with contributions by Dominic Guerrera, Jelina Haines, and Aunty Ellen Trevorrow.
JamFactory ICON Aunty Ellen Trevorrow: Weaving Through Time is a JamFactory touring exhibition supported by the Visions of Australia touring program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to cultural material for all Australians.
Exhibitors: Aunty Ellen Trevorrow with Jelina Haines
Curated by Carly Tarkari Dodd
Display furniture designed and fabricated by JamFactory’s Furniture and Metal Studios