We commissioned two Aboriginal artworks by Georja Bennett as part of our Aboriginal young people’s experiences of transition care project.
We work with consumers, clinicians and managers to improve the continuity of transition care for young people (14 to 25 years) with chronic health conditions in NSW.
The artworks are for the exclusive use of the ACI to support the Transition Care Network and youth health initiatives across the ACI. They will be used on our resources, posters and digital media to highlight a culturally appropriate connection for Aboriginal young people across NSW.
Artist: Georja Bennett (she/her)
Georja Bennett is a proud Wodi Wodi woman of the Dharawal nation. She grew up on the Wallumattagal land of the Dharug nation and later on the Gadigal land of the Eora nation. She is an artist and a psychology student at Macquarie University, who has had the privilege to reconnect to her culture through artmaking. Georja incorporates her education and life experiences and those of her loved ones dealing with mental health illness into her artwork. She strives to create a comfortable and encouraging transition to adult health care for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as the general youth population.
Gulbangadara Gulyangarri
This piece was created to celebrate the strength and resilience of our youth and all the various aspects that make up each one of them as individuals and as a collective. This piece acknowledges the good, the bad and the ugly. All of the aspects our youth have to overcome in their journey of health and wellbeing. Recognising the hardships they have to face and celebrating their persistence to survive and thrive through it all.
- The smoke depicts the danger and uncertainty our youth have to face in times of challenge and hardship. It further celebrates the courage our youth demonstrate to push through these times, and appreciate their courage and vulnerability in asking for support when they need it.
- The bush nutrients represent how the land and country foster a nurturing environment for our youth, how it guides them and provides them with the resources to grow and prosper.
- The stars represent our ancestors looking over, protecting and guiding our youth.
All the varying aspects that make up our youth can never be depicted in a single picture alone. This piece invites us to reflect on the ever-varying aspects which make up our youth and the resilience they hold in overcoming their hardships. It allows us to celebrate and honour them as they are our future.
Gulyangarri Galuwa Nura
This artwork was made to represent the journey our youth go on in developing their health and wellbeing; specifically focusing on their point in transition from childhood to adulthood. The name describes how our youth climb through the stages of development into a positive wellbeing and how the country is the land that provides the support and place for this to occur.
This piece depicts this journey that starts long before, and after, our time on this land through the songlines, with meeting points as core times of transition of developing a holistic wellbeing, whatever that may look like for each individual, and like the songlines depict, is never linear.
- The large meeting circle in the centre represents the transitional healthcare team we have in our district, as they play a key role in supporting our youth in this vital time of development, as they climb through all the hardships life throws at them.
- The mountains depict the hardships our youth have to climb and navigate.
- The goanna tracks are placed to acknowledge and pay respects to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as we walk and go through this healing transition on their land. Their totem, the goanna, walks alongside our youth to care and guide them through this journey. It serves as a reminder of the importance to provide care back to the country we heal on.
- The stars represent our ancestor spirits who watch over, protect and guide us all through this journey, living on past the songlines and always watching over.
- The contemporary colours along with traditional designs were implemented to appreciate and connect to the traditional culture of our ancestors while acknowledging the evolution our culture has had to modern times; appreciating the strength from the past, present and future of our Mob.