Embracing Indigenous Culture:“Women’s Dreaming – My Great Grandmother’s Country”

On 4 October 2023 our Rocky Point Residence was pleased to unveil a new painting by Indigenous artist Ms Khatija Possum titled “Women’s Dreaming – My Great Grandmother’s Country”. Artist Khatija Possum is the granddaughter of celebrated Australian painter Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO (c. 1932 – 2002) whose art hangs in Australia’s major collections and in museums worldwide, and who in 1990 presented his art to Queen Elizabeth II.

The painting was gifted to the residence by Ms Kathy Wong in memory of her late beloved parents Mrs Betty and Mr Charles Wong. Charles was born in 1924 in Broome in the same state (Western Australia) as the traditional homelands of the artist's family. In her painting of her great grandmother’s country, artist Khatija Possum painted the women’s ceremonial sites in the western desert of Central Australia. The painting is like a symbolic map of her great grandmother’s country.

While Charles was born in Australia, he spent his first 14 years in China owing to immigration restrictions of the day on his mother. When he was young he heard his mother tell others in the village of witnessing mistreatment of Aboriginal people in Australia. Charles remembered these stories his entire life. Betty and Charles enjoyed traveling around Australia and learning about Australia’s First Peoples, and would be happy to see the painting at Rocky Point Residence.

The family hopes the beautiful painting brings much colour, brightness and joy to all of RPR’s wonderful residents, staff and visitors, and that it inspires curiosity and interest in the First Peoples of this continent and in the nation’s past, present and future.