Sydney Harbour Bridge
Maker
Lola Ryan
(1925-2003)
Datec 2001
Object number00037420
NameSculpture
MediumCardboard, fabric, pink corduroy, shells, glitter
DimensionsOverall: 120 x 230 x 45 mm, 0.016 kg
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA cardboard sculpture by Lola Ryan in shape of Sydney Harbour Bridge covered in pink corduroy, shells and silver glitter.
Lola Ryan has created three dimensional shapes from cardboard, covered them in coloured corduroy fabric and then meticulously decorated them with small shells and glitter since 1940. She learnt the craft from both her parents as a young woman and made the pieces to sell to tourists along the southern beaches of Sydney.HistoryShellwork - the art of creating 3-dimensional shell covered objects - was practiced by many Koori people of New South Wales from as early as the 1880s as a way of earning income by selling souvenirs. Lola Ryan's parents of La Perouse, Sydney, sold their shellwork at the Royal Easter Show and Sydney's markets in the 1920s. Lola first began creating her own shellwork in 1940 at the age of 15. Her mother taught her to make the shellwork shoes and boxes, and her father taught her to make the bridges, boats and kookaburras. She sold her pieces to tourists visiting Sydney, particularly along the southern beaches.