MATILDA NONA | 'Kulba Danalaig' | Linocut / Natural Pigments

"Kulba Danalaig means the old ways or the old lifestyle. This work I have created are in memory of my childhood growing up on Badu Island in Western group of islands in the Torres Strait. As a kid, I grew up with all my family members living in the same house with many rooms. This house my grandfather built with wooden floors and corrugated iron sheet walls and no ceiling. My family owned this house. The land we occupied by making gardens, gathering bush tucker and growing pigs for special ceremonies, such as weddings, tombstones, Initiations and funerals. One of my fondest memories is the wet season, when all the creeks would be running, and we had to do our washings at the creek. We kids would all help scrub the linen with the smell of the sunlight soap and bubbles everywhere. At the same time, my aunties would hang up the linen on the wire clothesline to dry and attend to their casava gardens which was our staple food. This Danalaig (lifestyle) was hard but simple and we were much happy back then."

MATILDA NONA | 'Kulba Danalaig' | 2025 | Linocut / Natural Pigments | 57 (h) x 76 (w) cm