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The VOID (Part VI)

“When losing someone very important to me I often turn to my art to get through the darkest of days. When completing the first artwork in this series I looked at it and realised I had more emotions about the loss that I had to put onto canvas before I had any real thoughts of healing. So that is when ‘The Void’ series came to be. At first it was a way to work through my grief about losing mum. As the series started to progress, I realised that it was also a beautiful way to pay tribute to her. She was loving caring strong proud and always willing to go out of her way to help others. She was also a well-established Yindjibarndi artist and elder. In small communities a lot of people find it hard to process grief. They turn to other vices to numb the pain. The outcome I want to achieve with my series is to help anyone who walks into this exhibition to process and work through any grief and loss that they may have gone through themselves. Losing someone can bring so many emotions to light. My Journey into The Void began with anger, confusion, guilt and pain. I used these strong feelings to work out my thoughts on canvas. The first work in my series was very dark, with black paint on black paint. With each artwork more colour was introduced as I worked through my feelings. Sometimes the textural marks are harsh and sharp. My hand worked out the frustration. This third artwork in my series shows a glimpse of hope and light seeping through, slowly bringing back a sense of normalcy back into my life.”

Categories: Yinjaa-Barni Art

Name: Melissa Sandy


Language: Yindjibarndi



Biography:

Melissa Sandy was born in Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in 1977. Her mother was a Yindjibarndi woman from Roebourne and her father is from Adelaide. She spent her early years in Roebourne and when she was four, moved with her parents to South Australia (SA). The rest of her childhood and teenage years she lived with her family moving through South Australia, Pilbara and Kimberely. She went to boarding school in Darwin. When she finished Year 12, she went back to Roebourne and during this time she suffered the loss of her mum. Melissa has lived in Roebourne ever since, staying close to family and keeping her connection with her mother. She is mother to seven children of her own and is grandmother to five.

Melissa started painting in late 2006. She has no formal training and painting started as something to pass the time. She quickly developed her own style with a natural flair for design and dot painting. As she continues on her painting journey she has developed a more contemporary style. Melissa is meticulous about her choice of colours, spending a lot of time mixing her paints to achieve the right colours to complement each other. The stories that go with her paintings express the land and the plants from her Country and the stories told by her Elders. Melissa’s work is deeply personal and she is known for expressing her emotions through her paintings. She uses her art as a way of processing everyday life so her paintings give intimate insight into her inner world.

Melissa has exhibited at locally and nationally including Tracks We Share (AGWA), Colours of Our Country (Perth), Chalk Horse Gallery (Sydney) and Cossack. Melissa’s artistic achievements continue to grow and receive recognition Australia wide. In 2023, Melissa won the Judge’s Prize in the Jury Art Prize and was a finalist again in 2024. Most recently Melissa was announced as a finalist for the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

Melissa is currently working on her first solo exhibition titled ‘The Void Series’, which expresses her journey through grief and healing after losing a loved one. This body of work is a tribute to her late mum (aunty) and seeks to create a space for healing for herself, her community and anyone who has lost someone they love.


© the artist / art centre