Healing Ceremony, 2015
Acrylic on canvas
On Display in the Directions reception area, Level 6 Cosmopolitan Centre, Woden.
Healing Ceremony
This painting tells the great story of the healing ceremony. When people fall ill or have been sick for some time with a sickness or disease they seek the help of a medicine man or woman. Although in this case the help of Directions. When people need help they need someone to turn to in which case they seek out the help of others. To do so some travel many days and nights to seek the ones they need to get better. When you look at the painting you will see five moons and stars around the moon, each one of these equal a day and a night, as it takes many days and many nights to fully recover to one’s true self. You will also see in the bottom left and right corners two camps with many people gathered around each of those. Coming off both camps are tracks that lead them to the place at the top of the painting where you will find a bigger camp with five people sitting close by the edge. Sitting just behind these people you see three large people with their digging sticks and spear. These people are the medicine Men and Women that they have come to see for healing. You can also see many people walking across the plains and not along the tracks. These are people that have come from different areas and not from the camps you see, as many people travel very far distances from many different areas to seek this help and guidance. Healing can come in many different forms, some physical and some mental, social and emotional well-being. Also counselling and help with the struggles of addiction and the affect that it has on one’s life and the people around them. Having a place to go to seek help from others who fully understand the struggle you are dealing with is a great privilege. Directions have a great deal to offer, for those who wish to seek their help, and have a great understanding and offer many different forms of healing. I would like to thank you for allowing the time to take in this beautiful art work, to read this story and how it came to be.
Julianne Williams
Ngunnawal Aboriginal Arts
About the artist
My name is Julianne Williams. I am 32 years old and am from the Ngunnawal Tribe. I was born in Yass NSW, where my family originate from. I stayed in Yass until I was four then moved to Queanbeyan, which is where I started and finished my schooling. I was 18 when I relocated to Canberra and have been here since. I started to paint when I was just seven years old and had the privilege of having a Ngunnawal Mother and a Wiradjuri Father, which gave me the chance to learn two different styles of painting, dance and stories, in which I was able to create my own style of painting. When painting I like to paint Gatherings, Ceremonies, Healings and paying respects to the native animals that have sustained Aboriginal people for so many years in the past and still do today. Painting for me is therapeutic in many ways and also keeps me in touch with who I am. It also keeps my culture alive not just for me but for everyone I can share it with. I love to paint as it gives me the chance to share my culture with so many different people from different backgrounds, religions, cultures and countries. In doing this it keeps my soul enriched which makes me as well as others happy. At the end of the day, that is my goal to have taught someone something new about the Aboriginal Culture and to put a smile on someone’s face when they look at one of my paintings.