Description
c.2025, Reproduction on canvas – original currently on world tour
size 120cm W x 90 cm D
This painting traces the meeting of Chinese migration and First Nations life on Aboriginal land. On Yuin Country in Braidwood, the artist’s great-grandmother Ellen DeMestre met James Ahoy, who arrived from China during the gold rush. Drawn together by labour and survival, Chinese migrants and Aboriginal people lived side by side, forming families whose stories now run quietly through Australia. The work moves across Country and water — following whales, crossing goldfields, farms, and fishing grounds, and reaching the ancient heart of the continent. The painting speaks to endurance, across water.
