Using the patterns of ancient Gadigal mens’ and Womens’ back scarification with land topography of my Country.
.
Our Ngura bore the brunt of the emotional, physical and spiritual scars at Colonisation and is arguably still the most Colonised part of Australia today with Gadigal being pushed from our own lands and customs even in this contemporary context.
Konstantina (Kate Constantine) is a proud Gadigal woman of the Eora nation and a neo- contemporary indigenous artist. She is re-imagining the traditions of her peoples’ dot painters and providing a modern narrative for all Australians to better understand First Nations People as part of the fabric of Australia.
As a descendant of the Gadigal people, she is passionate about her Language, Culture and histories, much of which have been lost, misplaced or manipulated since the dawn of colonisation. Through her extensive research Kate is truth telling the real histories of her people and is actively involved in revitalising the Gadigal language via her collaboration with Sydney University to breathe life into the original language of the Eora Nation.
Her artwork tells of these histories, connecting to Country, and directly relates the struggles, inspiration, challenges and daily turmoil she feels at being a mum, a storyteller, a creative, a woman and above all a connected Aboriginal person to the land, the animals and spirit of our Country into her modern contemporary take on a time honoured tradition of dot painting.
Using acrylics, ochre, natural pigments and sticks found on mother Earth she sits quietly for hours producing works on paper, canvas and at scale for public art projects. She now resides with her husband and three young children on Bundjalung Country.
