About the Cover Artist
BRONWYN COTTERILL
“I like to paint about my family, my country, history and culture. Many of my family were part of the Stolen Generation.” “Place and belonging to me means connection to country and to family. In my painting the symbols I use represent the land, animals, camps, and the paths walked and worked on by my family. My artwork tells a story, the history of my people, my land, my past and it connects me to the present.” The painting featured throughout the annual report, Blood Connection, is one of Bronwyn’s first large-scale works. It narrates the story of Bronwyn’s ancestors, her grandparents, and their eight children from the heart of wildflower country in WA’s mid-west. The eight small circles represent her father’s siblings, and two larger ones symbolise her grandparents. The vibrant colours reflect the wildflowers, which bloom in abundance when in season. The circles on the side signify places of great significance to her family.
Self-taught artist, grandcarer and Housing Choices resident Bronwyn, is the artist behind the beautiful artwork featured on the cover and throughout the annual report, titled Blood Connection. Bronwyn is a Yamaji woman from Yalgoo, a small mining town in Western Australia about 500 kilometres northeast of Perth. She became a Housing Choices WA tenant three years ago, after Cyclone Seroja hit Mullewa and ripped the roof o her home. The event left her and her six grandchildren homeless. “There were no properties in my hometown, so I had to go to Perth to find housing. I went through the process, and I think I started crying when I was told there was a house for us,” said Bronwyn. As a single grandcarer of up to six children under 16, Bronwyn doesn’t have a lot of spare time to dedicate to her passion of painting. She will often paint through the night or in the early hours of the morning, where she can take some time to relax from her busy household. “Painting brings me peace. I paint because it de-stresses me, it’s my time to relax and I love seeing the di erent reactions people have to my art”.
| 3 Annual Report 2023-24
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