Ghost Gums at Night | Woman of the South

Woman of the South (Natalie Childs), born on Dharawal Country with kinship ties to the Bundjalung Nation, emerging artist living on Yuin Country, Manyana, NSW.

"As kids, my 2 sisters, 2 brothers and I spent most of our childhood alongside the riverbanks of western Sydney with my father," she says.

"My father taught us all how to fish, and how to recognise and name Australian gums."

"He told us all he knew about the waterways, soil, and native animals but most of all, he showed us the importance of silence and presence when in nature."

"How to truly appreciate and connect with country.

"My art is my own personal representation of country, womanhood, ceremony and sacredness."

"I feel my work is forever changing as I learn and grow as an emerging artist with a fusion of abstract, landscape and contemporary Aboriginal art."

"I like to think that with every moment I spend planning a piece, with every brushstroke and each time the dot work kisses the canvas, I help to release the shame and ancestral trauma for my nan and her extended family."

Now painting from her sunlit home studio on Yuin Country (the Country where her grandmother passed), Natalie is inspired by country, and guided intuitively by Ancestry.

"I pay my respects to country and, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Elders past, present and emerging. I honour our continuing connection to country, sea and culture."

"Always was, Always will be Aboriginal land."

"Ghost Gums study."

Natalie Childs, 2024

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