Join Nyoongar artist, Sharyn Egan at her drop-in workshop, as part of Perth Hills WanderFest 2025 to create a Boorongur, or “totem”. Participants are invited to consider a plant or animal of importance to them and create a raffia and wool sculpture in response. Sit lake side and enjoy all that WanderFest has to offer whilst connecting with Nyoongar culture on beautiful Boodja.

Boorongur means totem, in Nyoongar. Boorungur can be a natural object, plant or animal that is inherited by members of a clan or family as their spiritual emblem. Boorungur links a person to the universe - to land, air, water and landmarks. People don’t own their Boorungur, rather they are accountable for them. Each person has a responsibility to ensure that their Boorungur is protected and handed down to the next generation.

Sun 28 Sep 2025 | 10 am – 2 pm | Suitable for all ages

Free | No booking required | Lake Leschenaultia, 2135 Rosedale Road, Chidlow, WA, 6556

ARTIST BIO

Sharyn Egan is a Nyoongar artist and curator living in Western Australia.  Nyoongar boodja (land) comprises of 14 different Nyoongar groups across the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Jambinu (Geraldton) on the west to Kepa Kurl (Esperance) on the south coast. Egan works in a variety of mediums including painting, sculpture and woven forms using traditional and contemporary fibres. Egan’s woven works include traditional baskets as well as sculptural forms often based on flora and fauna that have totemic significance for the Nyoongar people. She works predominately in oils, ochres, resins and natural fibres and explores her experience of growing up in New Norcia whilst commenting on the associated trauma, emotions and deep sense of loss and displacement experienced by Aboriginal people.