New Collection by Melissa Ladkin

Last week we had a trip to Bundjalung Country to meet up with First Nations artist Melissa Ladkin. Always incredible conversations, stories and life lessons to be had with this inspiring artist.

The ten works are breathtaking, the colours of natural ochre pigments are incredible. Melissa has a fine touch with the delicate details often not obvious until you are standing up close to the works in person. This concentrated practice is a reason for the limited number of Melissa’s work available at any one time, however, this is only part of the story; Melissa is a busy woman with a gigantic list of commitments.

This year Melissa has pledged herself to five months in Arnhem Land working closely with ‘Culture College‘, an incredible social enterprise that provides tailored educational programs for visiting students, teachers, professionals and executives in partnership with the Yolngu people of northeast Arnhem Land. The purpose of the programs is to gain an understanding and appreciation of Australia’s Indigenous history and culture. For the Yolngu partners, Aboriginal Corporations, local businesses and others, the programs create a viable industry to enable Indigenous people to derive a sustainable income on their ancestral lands. This is an exciting and powerful life collaboration, whilst working towards closing the gap, sharing history and forging a path of reconciliation through education, knowledge and respect for culture. Culture College is an “eco structure”, the mentors, elders and Yolunga people work together as equals, combining skills and knowledge, sharing to deliver a rich tapestry of knowledge to all.

Melissa is committed to the reciprocity of the experience, with all involved gaining insight from the elders and each other. As Melissa walks beside the Yolungu elders on ancient lands, we know that there will be much inspiration for paintings in the future which in turn are a small part of sharing the stories with us.

We always come away from our time with Melissa with our minds full of new knowledge, a desire to learn and experience more of our ancient history. And of course the beautiful works created by Melissa narrate a message of culture whilst holding the history of Indigenous people and their connection to the land within the ochre pigments. It is likely due to Melissa’s schedule that there will be limited new works in the coming year so enjoy these beautiful paintings below as well as the whole collection available.

Have a great weekend and please contact us for any further information…
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