Description
This painting tells the story of my journey of discovery; a journey to find out about my aboriginal culture/heritage.
It is a reflection of the past, present and future. I thought about the last 12 years of searching and gathering information about my people, the Kalkadoons; and of the stories my grandmother has told me about her childhood on Elrita Station and Palm Island. I am proud of what I’ve learnt and where I am from. I am an urban aboriginal, 3 generations from the wrongs of the past.
Knowing who you are and where you are from is everyone’s right. I have used art as a tool to break down the wall that has kept me from that knowledge. Through my research, I have developed an understanding for who my people were and the way they lived their lives. But I also feel an overpowering sense of frustration that has come with the realisation that significant parts of my culture are either missing or gone forever.
I have been confronted with the fact that my journey now has many more obstacles. In this painting, the Rainbow Serpent follows my journey of discovery throughout the painting. The images surrounding the central figure are the stories I have discovered about my family. These are the stories that are important to me. They are the stories of Elrita Station, Palm Island, Cause of Conflict (white settlement into Kalkadoon land) and Battle Mountain.
The Rainbow Serpent follows my journey, then travels through the Milky Way and finally spirals into the central figure. I am the central figure; I am both black (brown) and white, depicting my Aboriginal, European and South Sea Islander heritage. My yearning for spiritual knowledge is depicted by the Rainbow Serpent, and by the Chakras along my spine. The motion of the serpent represents that some answers are out there in the universe waiting to be discovered. The serpent entering the centre figure depicts my understanding that some of my cultural knowledge has been lost and that to find the answers I seek, I need to look within.
SKILL LEVEL: Hard
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