Go back to where you came from

43 x 43 inches
But I am already where I come from.
My people didn’t arrive here. We didn’t migrate. We didn’t settle. We were born from this land and shaped by it. Every river, every coastline, every songline holds the footsteps of my ancestors long before borders or maps existed.
Country knows my name even when people refuse to learn it.
When someone tells me to go back to where I came from, I think about how deep our roots run. About how we are tied to this place through responsibility, care, and love. Through looking after Country, our totems, our waters and our stories, so they continue long after us.
There is nowhere for me to go back to, because I never left.
This piece is about belonging that cannot be taken away, no matter how many times someone tries to deny it.
From my Reclaiming Stereotypes series.