Stained in ochre...
Through my great grandmothers line I am a proud Jaru/Gija woman, from the remote yet stunning Kimberley region of Western Australia.
I have always known from a very young age that I wanted to be an artist. As a child I was always drawing on something, either it be on some old butchers paper, or on the sandstone rocks near the river or just finger painting in the earth.
Art was a world that I frequently retreated too with much delight and even more so as I grew up.
Not only descending from the Jaru/Gija line through my great grandmother; I was raised on Wilinggin country by the Ngarinyin people on the station & community we called home in the Kimberley, Ngallagunda | Gibb River Station. The community elders and subsequent generations have always been a part of my life, my family before me and will forever be.
Not only was I fortunate enough to grow up in community life, but station life aswell. Growing up a bushkid is the greatest experience my parents could have ever gifted me.
Childhood memories of swimming in the rivers in the wetseason, watching the musters come in, climbing fruit trees for mangoes, bush apples and taylor fruit. The elders teaching us about the dreamtime, Wandjina and country. Taking us on bushtrips to find bushtucker like sugar bag or teaching us how to use the land.
As I continued to grow and expand my creative space as a self taught artist, I started to contemplate the ideas of combining my Aboriginal heritage with contemporary style, experimenting with different techniques, textures and mediums.
Throughout my creative curiosities one truth remained and that was my love for ochre. It has a timeless texture and harmonious palette. It holds a longing feeling for home when working with it, knowing I am using something from country that has passed down through the earth for generations.Ochre is a natural earth pigment that has been used by Aboriginal people for a millennia. Colours can include yellow, red, white, sienna, umber and even green. In its natural state ochre can be hard or a soft crumbly type clay, the paints are made by grinding these natural earths into a powder and mixing it with a binding agent to create a paste.
The Kimberley soils are a rich source of ochre pigments and have been harvested by the Worrorra, Ngarinyin and Wunumbal people for generations.
The use of ochre is deeply embedded as a traditional cultural expression for Kimberley Artists and I use this in my work with the deepest respects and gratitude to those who have passed on the knowledge to do so.
Making marks...
Every piece I create invokes a time for personal reflection. I strive to embrace the power of connection and the unique beauty that exists in our connection to country, sometimes connected and disconnected.My work is not just a product of my imagination, but a manifestation of my experiences and these connections that drive me to create. To me, art is an ongoing journey of discovery, a path for exploring outside the boundaries that confine us, and other times a place to renew my grounding.
I try not to limit myself to one style and prefer to let my intuition guide my creative journey whilst staying true to myself and my art.
Achievements
2023 - CVIAA Clarence Valley Indigenous Art Awards | Winner