Title: The Ritjinguthinha
Artist: Jaeve
Age: 16 years old
Meaning in Kalkadoon language ‘The Dreaming’. My painting represents the many Dreamtime stories that have been passed on through the generations since the dawn of time. At the bottom of my painting you will see the Emu in the sky. Aboriginal legend tells us emus were the creator spirits that would fly and look over the land. Moving up my painting I have included the many red and ochre colours of our country. My ancestors were the Kalkadoon people from the Mt Isa region, and these colours reflect their surroundings. I have included the symbol for women, paying respect in particular, to my female ancestors, who raised their children and hunted, farmed and foraged with their digging sticks on this land. Our family totem is the Desert Goanna, which was passed onto me from my aunty, this connects me to my indigenous heritage both on a spiritual and cultural level. Spanning my painting I have included the footsteps of our First Nations people crossing over our land, like they did 65000 years ago. I have included the sea/coast line, as both the land and ocean were of equal importance to our ancestors. The turtle was a favoured food source of our First Nations people and are still celebrated with respect today. The many swirls and dot work represent the Dreamtime stories and I hope this will encourage and inspire people to embrace the ancient history of our country.