Lea Taylor is a Wadandi, Menang, Goreng Bibbulmun yorga who’s family connections are to the Hill and Maher/Williams families.
Lea’s art influence came from her mother, starting at a young age, seeing her mother paint, write, sew and play music. As a child Lea loved to watch her mother create but did not have the confidence to make her own art. Lea dabbled in a variety of art practices, never really finding her true fit due to a long battle with mental health. It wasn’t until she reached her 50s that Lea revisited art as a way to calm her mind. She started painting but soon discovered that her true passion and talent lay elsewhere. When she started coiling (weaving) and making Booka (kangaroo skin cloaks) her art practice bloomed.
As a self-taught weaver and artist Lea explores technique and style using traditional and contemporary materials and found objects such as bones, quills and feathers. This gives her work a unique edge, showing the beauty in what is generally discarded.
Lea is inspired by Indigenous Master Weavers and Artists, Yvonne Koolmatri, Ellen Trevrrow and Judith Watson, whose work Lea’s has been likened to. Lea strongly believes that her ancestors guide her to create in a cultural, respectful way; her artwork becoming the artefacts of tomorrow.
