NAOMI GREEN
Conversation with a crow

2022
acrylic on canvas
80 x 100cm

This painting is about our connection and dependence on the earth and the circle of life and death. The colours are inspired by the sunset, and water- both critical to life. If the sun were to set forever, we would cease to exist. 

A skull stares at a crow. The crow and skull represent death. The skull is at the mercy of the crow- a symbol of the natural world. The little willy wag tail inside the mouth and the lionfish fins sprouting from the skull, convey that new life comes from and depends on death. 

The ovaries are painted as water inlets, as both nurture life. The lung alveoli are painted as coral and eucalypt branches, as both release oxygen which we depend on for life. In the top left corner a neuron is depicted next to a coral polyp; the similarities between these remind us that humans only exist because of the life that came before us. Corals are cnidarians-the first animals to have evolved neurons; neurons form the building blocks of our brains and nervous system- which we often think set humans apart from other animals. 

As a whole, this painting reminds us that for Aboriginal people, country, people and culture are inseparable, for this reason true reconciliation also depends on committed actions to care for country and the environment.