Cœurs de Mamans - Mother's Hearts I

Mother's Hearts I

While creating Mother's Hearts I and Mother's Hearts II, I printed vintage crocheted doilies with healing clay, allowing their delicate patterns to leave permanent traces across the canvas.

As the painting slowly emerged, an elderly woman appeared in my imagination. I could see her patiently crocheting those doilies.

She became, for me, a symbol of Australia's complex history. I imagined a white woman who had lovingly raised an Aboriginal child taken from their mother during the decades of the Stolen Generations. Near the end of her life, she begins to understand the profound injustice that shaped both of their lives. With humility, she reaches across history toward the mother whose child was taken.

The doilies, traditionally associated with older women, patience and quiet contemplation, become silent witnesses to this encounter. Pressed into healing clay—an ancient material long associated with restoration—they become an invitation to acknowledge the past while creating space for compassion, reconciliation and shared humanity.

Mother's Hearts II has been acquired by private collectors in Brisbane.

Details

• Natural pigments from France
• Natural pigments collected on Gumbaynggirr Country, Australia (with permission)
• Australian healing clay
• 170 × 76 × 3 cm
• Original artwork
• Signed by the artist
• Ready to hang

Shipping quote available on request. Please contact the artist for a personalised shipping estimate.