Hi Jamara, can you tell us about how you got started making art?
I was born and raised in Moruya/Mogo, and have lived there the majority of my life, with ties to Yawalarray mob through my dads side and Djirringanj through my mothers side. My ancestors come from ocean and desert country.
The main reason I started doing art was to make friends! It’s funny but even though I’m from a small town where everyone knows each other and nearly all of us are related, I felt I never really belonged. When I was school age I found it difficult to find things in common with people, but when I started drawing I began to meet other people who also loved arts and crafts.
I wasn’t great at socialising when I was younger and I found it hard to express myself in words but art helped. Suddenly I had something to say and talk about and it helped me filter through my anxious brain. My anxiety had made even the simplest daily tasks difficult but Art helped me manage it.
What’s your biggest influence?
Throughout my career, my biggest influence has been Art Therapy and all the things it can do for a person’s mental health. Art and Art Therapy offers a way to express yourself and process what’s going on in your head, that maybe you find difficult to say in words.
My Culture is also a major influence in my art and is a big reason for why I’m an artist today. Through my art I can help my culture stay alive
That’s interesting, can you tell us more about how your culture informs your work?
It’s so important to try and keep culture alive with my art. It’s in every part from the techniques to the materials I use. Using organic materials like Ochoa or organic mud for clay, sculpting, that you can collect from riverbanks, and tree sap. Using these is very special to me.
And my culture is my community, which also plays a big part and a huge influence in my work and just me as an artist. When I first started, art was just a hobby for me, and I never had the confidence that it could be anything more than that. It’s only because of the support and love from my community and my brother Jordan Nye, that I have gotten to where I am today. They encouraged me to continue no matter what. Self promotion isn’t natural to me but with their support I was able to start my own business, create logos, start taking commissioned artworks, creating murals and taking part in community programs. I continue to grow more confident as an artist all the time, thanks to them. I am forever grateful.
Talking about materials, are there any others you like to use in your process?
I’ve mentioned a few culturally significant ones but I also like working with acrylic paint as it helps to thicken my mixes and then you can use it as a textured paste to create an artwork with more depth and detail. I’m a messy artist! So it gives you room to experiment and make mistakes into beautiful details. It’s not much but it’s something special I hold onto.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue a career as an artist?
If I was to give any sort of advice it would be that everyone has the potential to be an artist. Whether it’s painting, singing, dancing, or even poetry. Never pressure yourself to be like others, art is great when it comes from deep down inside you. And never pressure yourself to be like others because no matter what, just do it for you and the joy of doing it and that will make it special and unique.
Career highlight so far?
Hmmmm, actually, it happened a couple of months ago! I got the opportunity to return to my old primary school and paint a mural. It was amazing that a decade later I got to go back as an adult and leave my artistic footprint. And hopefully it will be around for a long time after me. It was an amazing process and took me out of my comfort zone. It’s also interesting learning to paint in front of people, which I can’t say I was previously confident doing. I met so many amazing people, and it gave me a lot of confidence.
What do you think the secret is to overcoming obstacles?
I’ve faced a lot of challenges in my career but the key is how you look at it. I didn’t see them as challenges, just mistakes or choices that you can learn from. In terms of my anxiety and confidence as an artist, I’ve learnt that everyones different and that’s what is important. Don’t spend energy on comparing yourself- just do you.
What do you hope for in the future?
I plan to leave my mark! I hope to get more into the therapy side of art. Maybe start my own At Therapy program to make a difference in people’s lives through art. Art has always helped my anxiety and mental health and I’d love to help do that for others and encourage people to use creativity as a healing practice of expression. Not just a silly side hobby.
I’d like to make Indigenous comic books, and books about finding your purpose for those struggling with their mental health, even for kids.
What do you hope people take away from your art?
I hope people will see my artwork and see all the emotions I try to convey. Feelings of adversity, struggle, stress, strength, love, and creativity. I think of my art as a “beautiful disaster”but I’d like to hope someone can look at my artwork and feel less alone. We’re all in these feelings together. And hey, maybe it can inspire someone to express themselves through their own art- that would be amazing.
Where can our readers see your work?
My whole career has been a pipe dream! I currently have a mural at Moruya Primary School, Murra Mia Moruya, Headspace in Batemans Bay, Katungul in Bega, and Bega TAFE campus.
I also post my artworks on instagram @Bugiya_bardju, (But I need to get better at posting more often!) which means yesterday’s footprints. I see my paintings as being my footprints of yesterday.
You can connect with Jamara via her instagram account.
