Mental Health and Alcohol and other drugs artwork, Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council NSW, 2022.

This artwork is about the holistic cultural support that the ACCHO sector provides to our communities around Mental Health and Alcohol and other Drugs (MH&AOD). This support is crucial to the improvement of our communities health, the uniqueness of our sector is that we are able to develop programs that truly imbed cultural processes and ways of life into the core of the work that we do. For me, caring for mental health includes nurturing the spiritual and cultural aspects of our being through being on country, fishing, emu egg carving, visiting scarred/ carved trees, listening to music and being surrounded by nature and community (or partaking in cultural events). Carrying our culture with us is so important to healing our people who may be affected by MH & AOD. This artwork speaks about the strength and resilience that Aboriginal people have which is ultimately achieved through the support and connection to culture and community. The colours in this artwork are inspired by the late afternoon/ early morning – a time when I feel very much at peace in nature. The central image features the AH&MRC and the regions, this adds to the idea of the complex pathways and systems that we have built to support our communities. MH & AOD issues often come in pairs – one feeding the other, however, the main focus of this artwork is that while this is the case, the way that we can counteract it is by placing an emphasis on our culture – which has facilitated the growth and healing of our people for millennia.