Andrew Gall (b.1960) was born in Queenstown, lutruwita (Tasmania). He is pakana, the son of Connie Mansell, and his language name is kurina (eagle / hawk). Gall holds a Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art and is currently a doctoral candidate at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. Trained as a jeweller, his practice has expanded within the context of innovations in 3D scanning, drawing and printing technology, and his work explores the interaction between the preservation of his cultural heritage and the role of technology in aiding the preservation of cultural knowledge and tradition. Gall’s goal is to create processes that will assist certain elements of his pakana culture to continue and prosper, as well to convey stories from his personal and spiritual past and from his land.

It has long been the tradition of pakana culture for women to impart lore and cultural knowledge to the young when out gathering shells to be prepared for stringing, as part of the traditional cultural practice of kanalaritja that has continued for thousands of years. After enduring the attempted physical and cultural genocide of colonising Europeans, pakana continue to face the issues of cultural loss and subjugation.

As our world succumbs to the realities of climate change, resource scarcity and the cultural homogenisation of globalisation, this crucial element of pakana culture will be lost. For The Design Imaginary, Gall displays three outcomes of his research into additive manufacturing to fabricate forms of the fast-disappearing marineer shells from new materials: resin, silver and porcelain, that will enable the continuation of the kanalaritja practice.

This work features: Griffith University Art Museum (2021) | Flinders University Museum of Art (2022) |