377815582357343

Published by on



Connecting to Country

Expressing yourself through your art. Because all you’ve got is expressing yourself through art and connecting to Country.

I was watching my sister paint, and she told me to paint. I thought, I don’t know how to paint or anything. Then I thought about my father, why he painted, and how he was thinking about his birthplace and Country.

The colours bloom too when you see them firsthand on Country. And when we go to Country, I see everything and try to remember it—all the colours, I take it in.

Now, when I paint, I’m thinking about my old people and how they walked down from the Walmajarri area towards the Western Desert.

Name: Helena Butt


Community: Bidyadanga


Biography:

My paintings are about the desert and going back and visiting.

Seeing country in my mind, always changing, doing different seasons. It’s the one place I’m painting. There is a strong connection there. That’s my Fathers Country.

I grew up in Bidyadanga, school there and Darwin when the kids were going from Bidyadanga to Darwin, boarding.

I have three kids, I had four but now three. I didn’t know that art was in my bloodline. I know Dad had it but I didn’t know that I could find my self in art, changing lifestyle, art is going to stick with me.

When I want to paint it comes into my mind and I put it on the canvas in a different way.


© the artist / art centre