Angela Torenbeek

Angela Torenbeek, affectionately known as Mahnah, is a cultural practitioner from St Pauls, Moa Island with a passion and flair for weaving.  

Mahnah learned to weave with coconut fibres by sitting at her mother's side, watching and copying her every move.  As a young girl she would weave balls for school sports and her own baskets for fishing.

Nowadays Mahnah still weaves with natural fibres and also utilises contemporary materials such as ghost net.  Through her art, she raises awareness of the damaging impact of ghost nets to the fragile marine environment of the Torres Strait.  

Mahnah's work has been exhibited in galleries and institutions including Parliament Houses in Canberra and Wellington, and the British Museum.