Balarinji art – an inspiring new look for HammondCare

To promote the importance of reconciliation, respect and recognition of First Nations people, HammondCare has commissioned the Balarinji design studio to create a series of Indigenous art works.

The art will be featured on communications about dementia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture across a range of resources.

The Balarinji Art collection consists of 316 individual artworks, predominantly gouache on paper, created by the Balarinji design studio. The works were created by John and Ros Moriarty and various Indigenous artists, who are part of the Balarinji team.

Balariji is a Sydney-based Aboriginal Australian-owned agency, founded on authentic engagement with Aboriginal people, culture, art, stories and identity.              

The story behind the art

This enchanting ‘Spring Journey’ design represents a journey through time. Depicting the scorched earth under the sparse shade of desert scrub, it features a series of trails with people resting along the way. The design is made up of three elements – songlines, spirit people and meeting places.

Trails are depicted in different colours to represent the many unique songlines. While the trails are all a little different, they’re all on the same path.

Along the paths, people are guided by ancestors, represented as spirit people.

The people on the journey stop at meeting places to watch the spirits dancing in celebration of life.

The tone of the design is warm and uplifting, which taps into HammondCare’s values of listening and relating, enabling choice, tailoring care and nurturing the whole person. The Indigenous imagery also reflects belonging and engaging with community.

Spring Journey is an inspiring representation of our relationship-based care approach, where we support the people we care for, walking alongside them on their journey every step of the way.