I was born
in Broken Hill in 1974, my Dad is of Irish descent and my Mum is a
Barkintji/Nyampaa women. I was raised in
Mildura with my Grandfathers sister, but travelled constantly back and forth
between Mildura, Broken Hill, Menindee, Wilcannia and White Cliffs.
My families land is Mutawintji National Park;
it contains the best collection of Aboriginal rock art in New South Wales and
was returned to my family in 1998. As a child I grew up visiting and camping on
our lands. My family heritage has always been part of and influenced me in my
art practice. As a young woman I was taught by my Uncle the traditional way of
collecting the raw materials to make artefacts. When we were decorating the
artefacts I had no idea that I was actually delving into the hybrid, mixing
what I was taught from my Uncle with contemporary practices.
I have
always wanted to be an artist, from High School and studied Aboriginal Arts in
Broken Hill for 2 years. I met my
husband in 1995 then settled in a family life for the next 11 years. When my
two boys reached 10 and 8 years old I started following my heart and dreams to
have my own gallery someday.
In 2005 I
enrolled into certificate 3 in Aboriginal arts, during the course I was
introduced to Research; this has been a very exciting discovery, linking the
use of traditional and contemporary art methodologies.
I have just
completed a Bachelor Degree and am currently Studying Honours at LaTrobe University
Mildura campus and then go on to ultimately complete a PhD in Visual Arts.
In My Blood
I was born in Broken Hill in 1974, my
Dad is of Irish descent and my Mum is a Barkintji/Nyampaa women. I was raised in Mildura with my Grandfathers
sister, but travelled constantly back and forth between Mildura, Broken Hill,
Menindee, Wilcannia and White Cliffs.
My family are the original custodians
of Mutawintji National Park and surrounding areas in NSW, and contains a large
collection of petroglyphs
or more commonly known as “Aboriginal rock art” which was returned to us in
1998. As a child I grew up visiting and camping on our lands. My family
heritage has always been part of and influenced me in my art practice. As a
young woman I was taught by my Uncle the traditional way of collecting the raw
materials to make artefacts. When we were decorating the artefacts I had no
idea that I was actually delving into the hybrid, mixing what I was taught from
my Uncle with contemporary practices.
“In My Blood” is my interpretation of
my people’s rock carvings from long ago in turn reflecting my cultural
heritage.
