STORY - Our Languages Matter

The resounding sense of “flow and continuity of culture in language” is the touchstone of Shara’s work. Shara sees language as a conveyor of identity, culture and knowledge, and also as a connection back to ancestors. These themes are typified in the different motifs within her painting.

The central circular motif of the painting features text. The smaller lower circles in the work represent meeting places and community, and have lines of connection.

Below the community circles is a semi circle of different coloured dots and Shara defines these as the different dialects within the hundreds of Indigenous language groups. The patterns in the top of the painting are to be seen within that sense of flow of culture. The shadow of hands in the sides of the work are the hands of the ancestors.