Jordana Angus
Meet the artist behind our Indigenous artworks, Wiradjuri women Jordana Angus
Jordana Angus is an established contemporary Wiradjuri artist. Whilst her traditional land is Narrandera NSW, she was born and raised in Redcliffe, QLD. Growing up in this location has given Jordana an innate connection to where the land meets the sea.
Jordana completed a Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art in 2016 which furthered her artistic ability by experimenting and introducing new techniques and mediums into her work and solidifying her Aboriginal heritage by exploring her history through art.
Her university graduation works focused on embellishing and reforming oyster shell remnants collected from family gatherings; and her jewellery work experiments with embellishing metals such as aluminium that are often seen as undesirable to consumers.
Works Jordana creates are often abstract landscapes to inform pieces inspired by reclaiming childhood cultural memories and her connection to Country; and her concern lies with addressing health promotion and environmental issues to invest meaning and value into materials that are overlooked or discarded.
By imposing cultural stories and traditions into contemporary practice, and using bright colours and experimentation with mixed mediums, Jordana raises awareness of her personal stories and the search for the beauty that can be found in the everyday.
Jordana takes great pride in the diversity and quality of her work and each art piece is personally hand painted or created. Most are one off pieces which have not been reproduced.
Yarning Circle 1
This symbol represents solid and deadly families. In the centre, there is a circle with a group of people holding hands which represents our First Nations families and communities. Often our overall health is reliant on our social and emotional wellbeing, which is important for being a solid and deadly.
There is a variation of different coloured and designed u shaped symbols which represent the different people who play a part in our wellbeing.
The u shapes with lines attached represent holistic ways of working with families that focus on what our children can do rather than concerns that need to be fixed.
Yarning Circle 2
This symbol represents our family ways of connecting and belonging through the various influences around us. These include our family, friends and connection to Country, all of which form a unique identity for ourselves, our children, our families and our communities. The inner circle represents the child with the outer U-shaped symbols connected to it representing these influences. The outer u shape surrounding the smaller u shape symbolises how families grow and learn over time and how connecting and belonging is important to our overall health.
Yarning Circle 3
This symbol represents how every child has a unique personality, and different ways of communicating, and how caregivers adapt to their children’s ways of being.
The small u shapes attached to the centre crosshatched ring represent our children in our community.
The larger u shapes attached to the centre ring with crosshatching represent the parents and caregivers in our community.
The larger U-shapes that are connected and facing each other symbolise the connections and interactions parents and caregivers have with their children.
The double u shapes on the outer edge of the symbol represent these the signals and cues our children give us so that we can lead and learn together.
Yarning Circle 4
This symbol represents the importance of self-care and looking after ourselves so that we can look after our family.
The three outer u shapes going inwards towards the empty circle symbolise the holistic view of healthcare as making sure your mind, body and spirit are all taken care of.
The circular ring shapes in the centre of the symbol, represents how looking after ourselves as parents and caregivers can be difficult to prioritise.
Yarning Circle 5
This symbol represents how we create strong communities, strong culture, and stronger children by creating connections, and building strong relationships with community services that offer family and community centred support.
The outer rings with the cross hatching and circle patterns represent culturally safe services that help reinforce the chain link like connection we create when we all walk together to create a better future for our children.
The centre symbol represents the Indigenous community guiding the support services to provide holistic care to families.
