Art is both a reminder and a mirror of memory and heritage—much like Grace Lillian Lee’s creations, which draw viewers into stories of ocean winds, migration and ancestry. Lee, a multicultural Australian artist and designer, was in Delhi last weekend exhibiting her work at the India Art Fair. She also took part in a conversation titled 'Dreaming in Thread' alongside designer Sanjay Garg of Raw Mango and the Australian High Commissioner to India, H.E. Philip Green. The event, organised by the Australian High Commission in collaboration with Raw Mango, explored First Nations and south Asian textile and fashion practices.
At the India Art Fair, on display was Lee’s woven wearable art collection, ‘The Winds of Guardians’, which includes a series of four suspended body sculptures resembling warrior armour in form and shape. Lee is a descendant of the Meriam Mer people of Erub of the eastern Torres Strait—a group of islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea. “We live by the ocean and with the ocean,” she says. “My community lives across a cluster of islands… there are over 200 dialects and 19 inhabited islands.”
The collection represents the different wind directions her ancestors travelled. “It is my creation story,” she adds. The sculptures—North Winds, South Winds, East Winds and West Winds—are suspended in space and shown alongside a ceremonial Dreamweaver mask.
The mask was worn by her uncle at the Louvre in Paris. “For us, it was like a reclamation of our culture in a place that we’ve never seen before,” she says. “I hope people find their inner warrior.”
Stitching back an identity
Lee describes herself as a multicultural Australian woman. Her mother is of German, Danish and English heritage, while her father is Chinese and Torres Strait Islander. But her connection to her roots was not always simple. Because of displacement during World War 2 and assimilation policies in Australia, many Indigenous families were discouraged from openly practising their traditions.
“It was easier not to identify with our Aboriginality,” she recalls. This history of silence and survival shaped her strong desire to reclaim and celebrate her cultural identity through her work. “To be proud of who we are and where we come from,” she says.
In 2017, Lee founded First Nations Fashion + Design (FNFD) to address gaps in the industry. “I saw a demand. I saw a gap. There weren’t First Nations-led organisations focused on skills development and business,” she says. She has since created platforms for Indigenous designers, models and performers to build sustainable careers.
Living weaves
Her practice combines ancient weaving traditions with contemporary couture and sculptural expression. The body sculptures are made from intricate weaving of cane, cotton, webbing and perspex mirrors that create a sense of wind direction. They draw from traditional Torres Strait Islander weaving, often called grasshopper weaving.
Traditionally made from coconut palm fronds, this technique is taught to children as part of cultural learning and domestic adornment. Over time, Lee began reimagining this practice using fabric, cotton webbing, cane and other modern materials. One of her signature techniques, “the belly of the grasshopper,” emerged in 2010. Later, she took weaving beyond ornamentation, transforming them into sculptural and wearable forms resembling protective armour, ceremonial objects and futuristic costumes.
‘The Winds of Guardians’ was reimagined by Lee over the last 16 months, working alongside seven weavers from a family in the Torres Strait Islands. “This is something that I long to continue and will continue to practise. It’s to ensure that the next generation can celebrate it,” she says.
Living in Cairns, Queensland, close to the Great Barrier Reef, her creations are also shaped by environmental awareness. Lee’s weaves draw inspiration from coral reefs and ocean landscapes while addressing rising sea levels, coral bleaching and climate change.
She has worked with climate advocacy groups such as Our Islands Our Home—a campaign led by the islanders to protect their homes—using fashion and art as platforms for awareness.
Building a space
In 2025, Lee became the first First Nations Australian woman to showcase a collection at Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris. Her show attracted major figures in the industry, including Jean-Paul Gaultier and Andrew Bolton from The MET.
Working at the intersection of art, fashion, performance and cultural reclamation, Lee resists being boxed into a single identity.
“I think art and fashion are very symbiotic. I feel very privileged that I can play in the world of many.” Lee believes every object we choose carries meaning. “All the things that we collect—jewellery, cloth, clothing—they’re all choices and have meaning to them. It’s part of our identity inherently.”