My artwork is about caring for Country and the nature we have in Australia. It’s also about how the nature we have is delicate so all Australians need to be gentle with it and take care of it. It relates to reconciliation by showing that the nature we have is a part of Country and Country is a part of the traditional owners of our land, so by taking care of nature we are also respecting Country and the Aboriginal Australians. The native animals and nature in Australia is a part of Country. The hand in the artwork shows how we need to care for nature and Country and that the lives of Australian animals and plants that are in our local Darug Country is in our hands.

Reconciliation means …To me, reconciliation means respecting, caring for, and appreciating all of the things that came with our country. Those things being, Aboriginal Australians and all of our native plants and animals, as well as the traditional culture and all of the different languages.

Artist: Anabella Hazell – Year 9