Giiny (Healing) is a reflection of my cultural upbringing as a Wiradjuri and Gomeroi woman. Giiny addresses the importance of being able to access cultural knowledge and practice throughout childhood in order to heal, especially through the use of passing knowledge to younger generations. Each print features children in my family alongside cultural influences from my childhood flocked in charcoal. This includes an Acknowledgment of Country in Wiradjuri, songlines of the Seven Sisters Dreamtime story and my family totem, the goanna. The charcoal designs are forms of different languages, both traditional symbols and more Western languages such as the Acknowledgment in Wiradjuri consisting of the English alphabet. Charcoal is used as a teaching tool in rock art to communicate a story, similar to how I'm using charcoal to express the story of my upbringing. It is also a reference to cultural burning which encourages the healing of Country, such as First Nations communities are healing from colonisation. The subjects wear ochre designs on their faces similar to how I did as a child, with the mark of their chins representing the thumbprint of their ancestors. The cultural imagery and happy children are linked together with the blue background, a healing colour. Giiny is a celebration of a living culture that deeply shapes my identity and is a reclamation of culture in a Western world in which community can heal and grow.
Bachelor of Visual Arts
Print Media
Lily is a proud Wiradjuri and Gomeroi woman with ties to Yuin Country. Her practice draws from her cultural heritage and experiences, celebrating Aboriginal culture and survival. Throughout Lily’s time at SCA, her artworks attempt to reclaim ownership and identity over past images that were ultimately harmful to Aboriginal peoples. More recently, Lily’s work has been influenced by her childhood and how her upbringing has impacted her cultural identity.