My artwork represents an Indigenous Australian educating a non-Indigenous Australian about cultural connections to the water and land. If that knowledge could be passed on even more, then maybe some people could look after Australia a better way, like how it used to be cared for over 60,000 years by Indigenous Australians. If we looked after Australia like that, then our oceans and rivers would be clean and shiny blue with thousands of creatures thriving. There would be beautiful clear sunsets, long green grass and, if we treated each other like we treat our country, then we could be diverse and reconcile with one another. My picture represents this perfect world, with diverse people, blue rivers, beautiful sunsets, green grass and beautiful sea creatures.
Reconciliation means…
To me, reconciliation means coming together with others and putting all
issues aside. It is understanding each other and not jumping to conclusions about others based on how they look or sound, or where they come from. It is the restoration of relationships and friendships even with just a simple sorry. If we work harder to completely reconcile with First Nations peoples then we will be able to fill the gap that has been missing in Australia for way too long and we can learn so much more about the country that we call home.
Artist: Isabelle Davies