ABOUT

Artist Biography — Susan (Guugu Yimithirr and Butchulla) Susan is an Aboriginal artist, educator, and cultural facilitator whose practice is shaped by the stories and teachings passed down through her family. Growing up in Far North Queensland, she was guided by her father’s storytelling — lessons of Country, resilience, and identity — and by her mother’s teachings on cultural history and responsibility. With a background in education and creative innovation, Susan has led programs that build relationships between Indigenous and nonIndigenous communities, create culturally safe spaces, and support policy change.

Her painting practice is grounded in cultural listening. Working with acrylic on canvas, Susan enters a reflective space where memory, light, and ancestral guidance shape her visual language. She has moved away from motifs and fine lines toward atmospheric abstraction, creating works known for their emotional resonance, quiet strength, and connection to Country.

Clay has been central to Susan’s life since childhood. Returning to ceramics in 2014, she developed her own glaze recipes, mastered kiln firing, and embraced hand building. Her ceramic works carry ancestral memory through layered glazes, carved motifs, and forms that emerge slowly and intuitively. She often gathers clay from the mountain, blending it with commercial bodies to honour place and lineage. Across painting and ceramics, Susan continues her family’s storytelling tradition — creating works that speak to identity, healing, and the enduring presence of culture.