Jasmine Miikika Craciun On Her Creative Process During The Irukandjis Art Design

“Working on the Irukandjis branding and art has been such an exciting process.

Growing up in Newcastle, surrounded by surfers like my dad, the ocean has always been a big part of my life. While I’ve grown up by the sea, traditionally my bloodline ties me to the far western region of NSW along the Baaka (Darling river). 

Being a contemporary Aboriginal artist a lot of my work comments on identity and place – traditionally I am a river person however I have grown up by the sea in Newcastle. The saltwater and freshwater of this country have always played a big part in my life and I used this as my inspiration while creating the art within the Irukandjis branding. To pay homage to where my bloodline runs I used lines within my work, which is a reference to traditional Barkindji art which is often quite precise, however for this particular work I wanted to reference the fluid movement of the ocean and the ripples within the water. To do this, my original sketch was an ink drawing which I then digitised in order to keep the wobbly hand-made lines and ink patches to create a more organic and free-flowing design. 

It was special and important to know that the Yirrganydji people were working alongside surfing Australia and had gifted the name to the team. I felt this was a collaborative work that stretched all the way from far North Queensland down the coast to Newcastle and inland to Far Western NSW.”