This project was born from a feeling of homesickness. Living in the remote West Kimberley and returning home to New Zealand once a year means I move between two very different worlds, and neither really understands the other. I grew up in a valley in New Zealand where the sky was long and narrow, and although traveling extensively, it was not until living in the flat savannah surrounding Derby that the absence of hills and mountains became noticeable and overwhelming. For the first time, I realised the comfort those land formations created.

The Kimberley is saturated in sunlight for most of the year. At times the sun and heat feel unrelenting and I long for winter. I began to have a recurring daydream of standing under mountains in the deep south of New Zealand. It was a subconscious retreat to a place I know and belong.

Natural pigments became an interest of mine while working for Mowanjum Aboriginal Art & Culture Centre. Across the world, ochre has many uses including decorative, medicinal and ceremonial. Within the Kimberley, ochre is harvested and deeply symbolic, the colours are different to New Zealand Kokowai (ochre). Initially, I referenced ochre within my artwork as a way to compare my two homes and to visually translate a feeling of belonging and nostalgia for each place.

Permission to integrate and reference ochre in my artwork has been given by Ngarinyin and Worrorra elders and artists.