Karlo

This painting reflects the journey and students travelling through their lives at school. Displaying the connection to Country, Dreaming and the waters, along with the elements of Country.  

Our First Nations students have been given the opportunity to connect with Elders and community members who visit the school to impart their knowledge and connection to culture. The gathering of Elders, community members, and students to connect and converse fosters a strong sense of belonging, which is crucial for cultural awareness.

The tree depicted is a scar tree. In a cultural context the tree is very important. Not only do First Nations peoples harvest tools from it and use the bark to form coolamons, shields, dishes and walls for our homes, but it’s also home to the various wildlife that Aboriginal people use for food resources, such as the witchetty grubs living in the trees.  

For First Nations peoples, when the leaves drop, it is like family members that pass away and travel on to the spirit world, and they wait for us to meet them there. Then, the new leaves grow. It is like the birth of children, representing the next generation. The roots sit deep in the ground and represent our connection, belonging, culture and history.  

The foot tracks travelling around the painting represent the continuous gathering of the students and their movement from one part of life to the next. The symbols in each corner are travelling symbols.

The various animals represented in the artwork were added to represent the spiritual and cultural connections the students had towards them. Fish are a very important element of culture in many nations. In Ngarrindjeri culture, the pondi (Murray cod) is significant; he is who shaped the Ngarrindjeri waterways, from the Murray River, down into the lakes. Pondi also created all the fish from him, which has all the native species in the water. The birds flying represent the gathering together to share and connect with each other.