This highly textured artwork shares the story of the Lower Hunter Local Land Service (LLS) and their work alongside community to care for country, creating resilient communities in productive healthy landscapes.
Central to the artwork three large gathering circles interlink representing Hunter LLS and their commitment to reconciliation and community partnerships.
This imagery holds a threefold meaning:
- Reflects reconciliation action plan around three key areas: Respect, Relationships and Opportunities
- Highlights collaboration , sharing the journey and shared vision.
- Depicts Hunter LLS three stakeholders’ groups: Land Holders, Farmers and the Wider Community.
Flowing across the canvas traditional people symbols highlight that ”it’s about people” gathering together, sharing information and making good decisions to sustain life, support healthy environments and protect people. The seven people symbols within the design is significant as it highlights LLS values of Accountability, Collaboration, Innovation, Integrity, Performance, Service and Trust. People symbols sitting on the central gathering circles emphasises innovation, new ideas and best practise, while those flowing across the canvas depict past, present and future generations and going forward together in caring for the country we leave our children.
This imagery sits upon a backdrop of country with engravings that represents local Aboriginal people as the people of the hills and plains. In addition, this central horizontal strip’s colour palette is reflective of climate change and the challenges we all face as shared custodians.
The traditional symbol for Elders is found in the very top left-hand corner of the canvas, acknowledging traditional owners and the cultural wisdom and practises Aboriginal people bring. Directly under this imagery four meeting circles symbolise tribal groups Awabakal, Worimi, Wonnarua and Mindaribba along with LLS footprint on country.
The artwork backdrop reflects the country of the Lower Hunter with the East Coast depicted down the right side of the canvas and flowing into the harbour and the Hunter River. The water imagery represents all waterways across country, while the green strips either side of the Coquun (Hunter River) highlight our wetlands, in particular the Hexham Wetlands. Our water life is reflected by fish imagery within the design, while native bush tucker is reflected by depicting native berries.
An orange horizontal strip within the artwork highlights traditional fire burning practises. This sits just below imagery symbolising our beautiful bush lands, which contains kangaroo prints reflective of our unique and diverse native wildlife. Above this a green interwoven strip depicts our native vegetation and cool, dense rainforests, while above at the very top of the canvas features crops, grazing and cleared land found throughout the Lower Hunter. I am a Wonnarua woman born in Sydney to an Aboriginal father of the Wonnarua people and a European mother. I have enjoyed the benefit of growing up within a large and close knit extended family and much of my work is influenced by Country, family connection, and relationships.
Size: 1500 x 800 mm
Date: May 2020
Medium: Mixed medium
I enjoy providing an opportunity to communicate with you personally on artworks of interests and their significance and story. My hope and vision for my online Gallery is to connect with each prospective buyer, allowing for interchange and sharing around your individual art needs, as would occur in a gallery or exhibition. It is an honour to have my artwork integrated into your living or work space and I am available to you to ensure the acquisitions of my works is a gratifying and pleasurable experience.
