FROM ME TO YOU
I would firstly like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people, the Traditional Custodians of the land in which i live and work. I recognise their deep connection and understanding of our land, its waterways, seas and sky.
I pay my respects to Elders past and present as they hold the wisdom that inspires future generations. I extend my respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia.
Welcome and thank you for making it here. My name is Holly and I am a proud Yorta Yorta woman and Artist. I've always had so much pride in my family, my country and my culture and I consider myself so grateful that through art I can share my pride with others. Though I grew up in the eastern suburbs of Naarm I have always kept a close connection with my Yorta Yorta country.
Previously working as a hairdresser I was encouraged to continue my artistic endeavours when I realised I could use my art as a tool to engage new people with my culture. Spending time in the salon gave me an interesting perspective into how others perceive my culture. Being a Yorta Yorta woman I realised the importance of sharing my own personal history as I felt people forgot that in fact, all of this land is Aboriginal Land. Sharing personal history that is closer to home than some imagine is eye opening. Conversations starting through an artistic lens, makes people perceptive to other conversations that may not have been had before. I love that it promotes education which then turns to understanding.
Creativity was always encouraged so strongly in my home by my mum growing up. I am an only child so i was lucky to spend many hours drawing, colouring and painting one on one with her. I remember dreaming so young to one day colour inside the lines so perfectly just like she did.
I spent a lot of time as a child at my grandparents house. My uncle (Adam McLennan) their son and my dads brother was an incredible Artist. He spent lots of time away when i was young and would mail his paintings to my Nan where she would manage him.
I remember bringing in the ladder from out the back, inside into the lounge. I would help roll out the canvases when they would arrive and a brilliance of colour would unfold. Pa would climb the ladder and would photograph them on Nans camera. Nan was famous for her camera back then, there wasn't a single place she wouldn't take it.
I was lucky to tag along with her to galleries where she would consult and see if it was the right fit. I would be left to walk around and admire the walls for as long as i could remember. To be surrounded by creativity and passion like that is still something i don't forget. I still remember many of those walls like it was yesterday.
My family celebrates and admires art so greatly. I feel lucky to be surrounded by people whose values are so aligned with mine.
I feel that my art is gentle and soft spoken.
Selfishly when i indulge in my paints, i feel safe. I feel still. It allows me to digest the outside world. Painting allows me to transform the feeling of happiness and love into a physical form of matter. But even more beautifully it allows my anxieties, my worries and my heartaches to run through me and come out the other-side light. No longer so heavy.
Holly xxx
