N’Dene Riley is an emerging artist best known for her luminant imagery of the ocean and sea life. With ancestry from the Aboriginal people of Tasmania, she now resides on the Mornington Peninsula. Her relationship with the land and the water informs her work, seeking tribute to the strength and beauty of the ocean along with its healing powers. She draws on her connection to her ancestors and the stories passed down about how to respect and care for the ocean. Through the use of circles and symbols, she portrays a connectedness between all living things. Working mainly with acrylic on canvas, N’Dene imparts a unique message of hope and positivity with every painting.
Acrylic on stretched canvas
2024
160cm x 135cm
# 94 -24
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N'Dene explains, "Turtles have a strong soul giving strength and harmony to those around them. We had a pet turtle for ten years which served as a wise soul in the house to help provide guidance when required. The connection with this turtle inspired me to investigate turtles and how we learn from them and their way of life. We can imagine them swimming together as a family and our minds swimming with them in this painting. The artwork is designed to show how the inhabitants all successfully live together underwater in their loa maggalangta (deep water).
In Palawa, the Aunty’s said that the turtles travel between Victorian and Tasmanian shores which also held a connection to my ancestry. My hope is that you have this painting to inspire, remind and increase awareness of our beautiful underwater world and that you protect it as we do in Our Culture".