Stories from the Studio: Judith Nangala Crispin
On the eve of World Poetry Day STA had the honour of visiting Judith Nangala Crispin at her home studio on Ngunnawal/Ngambri Country near Braidwood to talk about her new book The Dingo’s Noctuary.
Every once in a very long while a book of poetry comes along that is so powerful and beautiful it brings tears to the eyes. Such a book is The Dingo’s Noctuary, an illustrated verse novel complete with hand drawn maps of the Australian central deserts, pressings of rare plants, and forty-seven lumachrome glass prints of Judith’s afterlife portraits of animals and birds.
The Dingo’s Noctuary explores themes of identity, belonging, and the fragile threads that connect all living beings. At the heart of the tale is a soul’s dark night, the flight of a lady motorcyclist, in the prime of her invisibility, and her mongrel dingo Moon, into the Tanami desert.
‘I spent a lot of time with these really great Warlpiri women, painters, who said to me the important thing is the moving forward. You go out into the Country and you speak to Country, and Country speaks back, and you try to honour that connection as best you can.’
WARNING: The poem recited by Judith in this video includes references to suicide and murder.
Judith Nangala Crispin is an acclaimed poet, visual artist, motorcyclist, conservationist and volunteer firefighter. Her poetry has won the Blake Prize, been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and been shortlisted for many awards including the Peter Porter Prize. Her visual art has won her residencies, awards, and wide acclaim, here and overseas.
Follow Judith on Instagram @judith_nangala.
For more information and work from this extraordinary local artist splease visit her website judithcrispin.com
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to own a first edition of The Dingo’s Noctuary published by Puncher & Wattmann. Profits from the book sales will be donated to The Purple House, provides essential health services, specifically dialysis, to Aboriginal elders living in remote parts of Australia
Judith Nangala Crispin, Ascending Being 45–Zoe descends to comfort her daughters, in a burning country. Lumachrome glass print, cliché-verre, chemigram. Smoke killed baby tiger snake on fibre paper with seeds and honey (for the stars – constellation lines drawn on with pencil) and glass plate. Exposed 32 hours in rain and bushfire smoke, then rubbed with charcoal from the burned trees. Courtesy: the artist.
World Poetry Day is celebrated annually on March 21 to promote linguistic diversity, support endangered languages, and honour the power of poetic expression. Declared by UNESCO in 1999, it encourages reading, writing, and publishing poetry, highlighting its role in dialogue, peace, and shared human values across cultures.
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the traditional custodians of the lands where we create, live & work.
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