Tinika Clifford has found a unique gallery space to display her Indigenous art.
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The mother-of-four is displaying her 17-piece mural entitled Community Connection through Community Spirit on the walls of the Gateway Newsagency.
The multi-coloured acrylic canvases took eight months to create and are Ms Clifford’s interpretation of moving to Warrnambool.
“It’s about connecting to country,” she said. “This mural is a representation of what I have personally witnessed and experienced within the south-west region.”
Ms Clifford and her partner moved to Warrnambool in 2008 where they have since had four children.
The family were officially welcomed to country at an Australia Day service at Hopkins Falls in January 2012, all of her children having naming ceremonies conducted by south-west elders.
“When you are born into an Indigenous blood line you learn very quickly that you are not alone, in fact it’s the complete opposite, you will never be alone, ever, and you have family everywhere.”
Ms Clifford’s tribe are Tubba-Gah, the traditional custodians of Dubbo, and her mural is a combination of both Tubba-Gah and Gunditjmara markings meaning “my heart” and “my home”.
She said the colours of the background of the murals are a representation of the colours Mother Nature has provided for us to survive off and to respect.