Embrace world indigenous contextualised cultures and spiritual practices.

About myself…

I am Aboriginal Butchulla, Gunggari and Jarrowia ancestry, and Irish blood. I grew up in a Christian household where most of my family led by mother and grandmother practicing our Christian faith.

After formal education and training at Wontulp Bi-Buya College for Christian indigenous students, I first came across learning about the importance of contextual relevance, contextualising the Christian Bible.

After Wontulp and stint as a Hospital Chaplain, I took up a position ministering in the local State Correctional Centre as a First Peoples Chaplain. It eventually led me to making the life altering decision in denouncing my faith, after realising the monopoly hold and influences by industrial corporative organised religions on spiritual matters.

One of the main reasons in supporting this idea was I felt I needed to step outside the churches shadow, hopefully to be fully present and able to work in the culture spiritual space without expectations and conditions held by the church.

Historically organised religions have been a detrimental force in undermining the relevance of culture and spiritual practices of indigenous peoples. Though through personal experience lately there has been somewhat improved relations and efforts in attitudes towards the cultural space.

“When culture is abandoned, we abandon God our Dreaming.”

People must remember indigenous people did not abandon or loose our culture, it was taken, stolen, and forbidden to practice.

God – The use of this word I am relating it to the many indigenous mythical beings and creatures depicted in indigenous cultures who are considered as their Creator. Who hold equal status and nature as we refer to God in other religions today.

Having spiritual characteristics, power and archetypal qualities that has guided our ancestral spiritual pathways for millennia, ie. The Rainbow Serpent, Creation spirits, stories, legends and other spiritual beings.

Spiritʼs Objective…

• Spirit is a call to action to encourage indigenous people to reconnect, establish and practice culture spirituality on country, aligning to inherent ancestral spiritual pathways and identity.
• The void of Ancestral Spiritual practices robs us from experiencing a rich life, fulfilling and sustainable, connected to Spirit, time, and the cultured.
• Culture and Spiritual practices that excludes the natural environments it is based in, are detrimental to the longevity and well being of that environment and its occupants.
• Spirit encourages that we begin the process of aligning our beliefs and practices to world indigenous contextualised cultures and spiritual practices of that environment.
• Spirit is about education especially for non-traditional people, to be mindful and aware of indigenous lores unwritten, unseen and unheard moral and ethical codes of consciousness and behaviour. That contextualises everything within the environments of traditional owner groups we live and visit today. Be mindful and respectful of these cultural lores that are still operational and continues for millennia, governing and maintaining order and safe passage.
• Australians need to grow up and not sit behind the colonial legacies and positions of entitlement held by their ancestors the new arrivals. Face the fact and reality that they now live and occupy a continent that is not their own and never will be. They are visitors and products established by capitalist motives enriching their motherland, don’t romanticised what’s not your own.
• As visitors we need to know our place, listen and adhere to what are the concerns of traditional peoples, come alongside them to hear the importance of being contextually centred. Centred concerning the preservation of nature, the natural and cultured environments.
• Spirit identifies that Australia is a capitalist construct, where introduced organised colonial practices are paramount, who’re supported favourably and operate at times as a law unto themselves. Practicing illegally and corrupted with immoral and unethical intensions that supersede the health and wellbeing of indigenous peoples.
• It seems capitalism is the moral and ethical yard stick we’ve strive for in valuing our self worth and that of others.
• If religions and the religiously influenced want to constitute values that exemplify Australia, let indigenous contextual spiritual perspectives be at the forefront.

Artist Objective…

Produce highly innovative Signature Works that will push and extend the creative boundaries of artist’s practice.

Give audiences the opportunity to experience unique, contemporary modern art expression and dialogue.

Enable relative, unique perspectives concerning the conservation and preservation Earth’s natural environments.

Draw on proven world indigenous sustainable practices and knowledge, addressing issues of
corporative industrial agriculture and organised religion.

Through the aspirations of Spirit, the artist will continue to suspend audiences in timeless ritualised performance, emanating ancestral wisdom through symbolic gestures, sounds and visual themes crafted in momentary windows of participatory experience.

INVESTMENT PLAN

• Establish art networks, key personnel and support in establishing vision;
• Update website & artist profile, create new content;
• Create new visual art and performance work.

CULTURAL MAINTENANCE AND DEVELOPMENT

• Continue to liaise with spiritual and cultural advisors, mentors;
• Travel and participate in cultural and spiritual activities;
• Establish cultural and spiritual practices;
• Create and establish cultural networks;
• Create cultural database.

ARTWORK DEVELOPMENT

• Acquire further ongoing education & training;
• Source fabrication & technical support;
• Create and develop new visual art.

COMMUNITY AND AUDIENCES

• Network, liaise and consult with local traditional owner groups;
• Research and establish audiences;
• Create opportunities to present to communities.

Why SPIRIT…

Spirit is close to my heart, the reintegration of indigenous cultures and spiritual practices. Advocating for allocated services and funds to resource culture education and training programs. Our culture and natural environments are suffering and are in constant threat because of influential constituted global corporative industrialism that ignores the importance of indigenous wisdom.

Artist words

Traditional culture practices and beliefs supersede contemporaries…

At the moment it seems aboriginal authority, is like a guttered fish, empty and a lifeless corpse…

Capitalism the popularised global culture, morally and ethically poor when unregulated, detrimental to world traditional cultures.