This piece represents my vague recollections and the traumatic path to my adulthood, and only finding out in my later adult years that I was part of the stolen generation.
Name: Linda Daniel Rowlands
Language: Ngarluma
Biography:
I am a proud Ngarluma woman born in Roebourne but stolen from the old reserve when I was young, by government people wanting to acclimate me into white society under the guise of the racist white Australia policy.
After being away from country for over 40 years, and after a lot of research I made a return to country in 2018. It was a whirlwind trip that didn’t allow enough time for me to get to see my birth country, or get to know a family I never knew I had, so in 2019, I along with my best friend packed up and moved from regional Victoria to remote Western Australia. We have been here for over a year now, I have seen a bit of my country, yet I still feel very much like a stranger at times, as I have not grown up with my people’s Lore and Culture.
It was moving here that I found a talent and passion for painting. I love adding different textures and things to my art pieces, to make them a little different from what is considered normal. I feel that is rather apt as I am also a little different to my mob. I also like to paint about what I see on country and the beautiful country my mob call home.
I am immensely proud of being the first born of the late Doreen Daniel. It was mum’s brother, my Uncle, who won Native Title for the Ngarluma people all those years ago. That is something else I am enormously proud of.
Needless to say, everything I paint is from a journey that resonates deep in my soul. I don’t have traditional stories to tell, so I tell my stories. The horror stories of being ripped away from my mother and growing up in institutions and foster care, to the stories of love from bringing three unique individuals into the world, my kids, my heart, and the utter humbling stories of being on country for the first time after being torn from it when I was so young.
Stepping Stones When the world was soft… when everything began… these are the stepping stones as the ancestors walked across the world… long time ago… before we was born… you know… when the world was Read more…
Munni Munni Hills When I was a little girl I walked around my parents camps where we grew up, they worked the station. I would look after the station owners children at Munni Munni Hills.
Stepping Stones When the world was soft… when everything began… these are the stepping stones as the ancestors walked across the world… long time ago… before we was born… you know… when the world was Read more…