Grace Brown / Sugar Glider Totem (GB05)

Grace Brown was born in Victoria and is a very proud Wurundjeri woman. Woiwurrung is her language group and is shared by the other tribal territory groups and clans within the Woiwurrung territory.

Grace has been on a journey to find her heritage on her grandmother’s side and with many years and much research, she now knows where on country she belongs.

She lived in North East Victoria near Healesville for most of her life but now resides on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

With many years of experience with different mediums and subjects, she now has dedicated her life to aboriginal art and her culture to find herself and learn everything about her culture and dreamtime stories from her community and her Elders.

Grace studied an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts Course in 2020 – 2021 and hopes to teach her craft, culture and indigenous dreamtime stories to the next generation.

In 2021 The Gold Coast University Hospital commissioned a large painting by Grace for the boardroom at the hospital. (Permission given by  Yugambeh Elders)

Many collectors around the world now hold Grace Brown paintings in their collections. Her latest painting sold to a private collector in New York USA titled “The Heart of Australia’.

Prizes
Finalist in Artlovers Art Prize 2022
Finalist in Bluethumb Art Prize 2021
Shortlist Artlovers Australia 2021 Awards
Shortlist Artlovers Australia 2020 Awards

Exhibitions
2021 Artlovers Australia
Naidoc 2021 – Heal Country, Artlovers Australia
Naidoc 2021 – Heal Country, Gold Coast University Hospital
2020 Artlovers Australia

The Sugar Glider has a membrane extending from its fifth finger to its ankle enabling it to glide up to 50m between trees. In flight, the Sugar Glider uses its long bushy tail for stability and steering.

The Sugar Glider lives in forests and woodlands and is found in northern and eastern Australia, including northern Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and south-eastern South Australia.

We as first Australians have a deep connection with country, its animals, plants and places. We believe that the spirits of their Dreamtime ancestors, who walked the earth in a time before time, still dwell in sacred places on country as do the spirits of the 2,000 generations of people who lived before them.

We have complex layers of totems deeply embedded in our culture. A totem can be a natural object, a plant or an animal that is inherited by members of a clan or family as their spiritual emblem.

Our totems define peoples roles, responsibilities and relationships with each other and with creation. Totems could also be the descendants of the Dreamtime and are seen as heroes and spiritual guides.