Emowamba Yapang Parai - My Journey on Country

Emowamba Yapang Paria shares kaths connection and love of family and country, bringing an acknowledgement to traditional custodians across her footprint on country, from her home in Melbourne, her travels in Australia and her time abroad.

Traditional people symbols move across the canvas’s  commencing with Kath on the left, shown as a strong woman and mother and flowing onto the middle canvas, depicting her two daughters.  Each of the women have a circle depiciting a coolamon, symbolising women as gatherers. The story then continues to Kaths son, shown with a spear representing men, as the traditional hunters within the clan.

Woven across the background, songlines on country depict the West MacDonnell Ranges, near Alice Springs, a place Kath has walked many times. Her love of trail walking through these ranges has deepened her connection to the land, and their presence in the artwork honours those journeys through rugged country and open sky.

Gathering circles stretch across the painting behind the family story. These circles represent the many communities and tribal groups that have been part of Kath’s life. Growing up in Melbourne and travelling to Tasmania, water imagery weaves across the bottom of the artwork, marking the pathways of travel 

across oceans and country. Telling of Kath’s journeys far from home to New Guinea and the United Kingdom, each place adding new experiences, knowledge, and memories to her life story.

Together, the symbols in this artwork create a living map of Kath’s journey, a mother, a walker of Country, a traveller across waters, and a woman whose story flows through family, land, and community. Her path continues, always connected to the people she loves and the Country that holds her story.

Size: 720(w) x 500(h) mm x 3

Year: 2026

Medium: Mixed medium on premium stretched canvas with hanging hooks and wire.