Niah Juella Mcleod

Niah Juella Mcleod is a descendant of the Monero, Wandandian and Yuin peoples of south-east Australia. She is the daughter of Kathrin Sharp, a painter, and Bobby Mcleod, an Aboriginal activist, poet, healer, musician and Yuin elder. Niah’s works are inspired by different moments in her life, and only a few have meaning related to traditional Dreamtime stories.
All the canvases feature either fine lines or small dots forming a hypnotic pattern, created using a pipette, a brush or the spine of an echidna, a small animal typical of the Australian fauna. Here, the canvas is pierced by a kind of black crack symbolising a fishing line, known as a ‘waraawara’. The brushed beige background blends with the vortex of light white lines, echoing the totem pole of the Yuin community from which Niah comes. This is a species of eucalyptus called ‘stringy bark’ (‘gugaa’) in reference to its gaunt appearance. The canvas depicts a fishing session under the shelter of eucalyptus trees.