A Bright Future for Health

Artist: Matthew Humphries (Kamilaroi)

Region: Mackay

About the artwork

I am the son of a Kamilaroi man from Moree, proud of my cultural heritage, committed to the empowerment of my community.

The key message I want to convey is the road to health for First Nations is through well organised networks and communications between each sector, driven by the spirit of our people.

I depict a picture of optimism seen in the deep, bright colours which representing our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The larger sphere represents national and regional organizations. The mid size sphere represents local organizations. The smaller sphere represents our population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The luminous core in each sphere is the spirit of the people. The waves of colour represent the guiding spirit of the elders. All of this is occurring on a background of the land and sea through time as indicated by the changing light. I left the borders incomplete to suggest unity outside of what I have depicted.

I feel that converting my hand-sketched art to digital art allowed me to create perfect symmetry of symbols and connecting patterns to show clear paths of communication and networks driven by the spirit of our people.