Young Artists Competition Winner Announcement
We are so excited to announce the winner of our Young Artists Competition “The Ritjinguthinha” by Jaeve aged 16. The competition was judged by two of Yarn’s talented partner artists Holly Sanders and Luke Mallie. Jeave’s work was chosen by the artists as she has done an incredible job at creating an artwork that encapsulates the competition’s theme “Always Was, Always Will Be.” Through Jaeve’s artwork, she portrays the Dreamtime stories of her people, the Kalkadoon people of the Mt Isa region.
The Ritjinguthinha - meaning in Kalkadoon language ‘The Dreaming’ - Jaeve, 2020.
“My painting represents the many Dreamtime stories that have been passed on through the generations since the dawn of time. At the bottom of my painting you will see the Emu in the sky. Aboriginal legend tells us emus were the creator spirits that would fly and look over the land. Moving up my painting I have included the many red and ochre colours of our country. My ancestors were the Kalkadoon people from the Mt Isa region, and these colours reflect their surroundings. I have included the symbol for women, paying respect in particular, to my female ancestors, who raised their children and hunted, farmed and foraged with their digging sticks on this land. Our family totem is the Desert Goanna, which was passed onto me from my aunty, this connects me to my Indigenous heritage both on a spiritual and cultural level. Spanning my painting I have included the footsteps of our First Nations people crossing over our land, like they did 65,000 years ago. I have included the sea/coast line, as both the land and ocean were of equal importance to our ancestors. The turtle was a favoured food source of our First Nations people and are still celebrated with respect today. The many swirls and dot work represent the Dreamtime stories and I hope this will encourage and inspire people to embrace the ancient history of our country.” - Jaeve
Jaeve leaves us with an important message to “embrace the ancient history of our country” as it is rich in culture and tradition, passed down through centuries of generations.
The winner was picked from the top 5 finalists who had the highest number of people's choice votes. We would like to acknowledge the other incredible finalists: Wholeness by Lilly, Connecting with the World! by Sylvia and the Majestic Suken World by Rose. We are absolutely blown away by the talent that has emerged through this competition. It is wonderful to see the creativity of the younger generation and to witness their continued connection to culture and country.
As a result of winning this competition, Jaeve’s artwork “The Ritjinguthinha” will be featured on a limited edition Yarn collection! 100% of the profits from sales will be going to our partner charities ALNF (Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation), Gunawirra and Nutrition Plus. So keep your eyes peeled for this incredible new collection, it will be available soon and for a short time only!
Once again congratulations Jaeve!