Ngura
SERIES DIDACTIC
Central to all First Nations people in Australia is the innate sense of belonging to and being a part of PLACE. This sense of place is our attachment to Country and all that connects us to it, and it to us.
Country, or Ngura, is the lifeblood of our people. The heart, soul and creator of Culture. Ngura is the physical land, animals, water, sky and air and it is also the emotional feeling one gets when standing on Country or working on Country for the betterment of our people and Culture. Ngura is also the spiritual manifestation of our connection and engagement with, and to, Country. It is this Ngura that Aboriginal artists channel into their works. A physical storytelling from our rich oral history. It allows us to remember our place, our Ngura as our ancestors did, it allows us the opportunity to preserve these memories and histories for our next generations and for Millenia to come.
Kati Thanda Didactic:
It is via the first songline of the Gadigal people, the Garanga songline, that we first peoples of Warrane (Sydney) are connected to the mob at Kati Thanda, the Arabana people. Garanga (pelican) first journey is from our sacred place North Head all the way to the salt pan lake, Kati Thanda to breed and nest. It is my honour to reclaim these stories in paintings via my extensive research into our ancestral past and our original belief systems.
