Aboriginal art goes beyond aesthetics. It represents stories that connect people to country and each other. Koh Living is proud to celebrate this tradition and the artists that keep it alive in the Sacred Country Collection.
We reside on Sacred Country that has tens of thousands of years of human history. The deep connection and understanding between first peoples and country is a beautiful culture deserving of wide recognition.
Aboriginal people traditionally use art as a means of communicating and storytelling. This can be seen in magnificent examples of carvings and rock art around the country. These traditional storytelling techniques continue to be practised by Aboriginal artists today to create unique, meaningful artwork that the wider community can support and celebrate.
Sacred Country Collection
Koh Living’s Sacred Country collection is proudly curated and presented by Koh Living Founder, Tui Cordemans. The collection is a vibrant representation of kin and the traditions that hold us together as expressed by four Indigenous female artists. Nine new designs are inspired by their country, in Australia’s central desert region, and are a reminder of female power and its guiding influence in the world.
New Aboriginal Artists
Michelle Possum Nungurrayi
Michelle Possum was born at Napperby Station, near Alice Springs and learned her craft from her father - Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Clifford is the most renowned painter of the founding group of Papunya and is considered of the most collected and renowned Aboriginal artists.
She carries her father’s influence by incorporating traditional stories, style and iconography but uses her own style of strong colour. Michelle’s art often represents strong figurative elements, the topography of her family’s Country and women’s ceremonial stories and dreamings.
The dreamings come from Yuelamu on her home country at Mt Allan. These include the stories of Seven Sisters Dreaming, Bush Tucker stories including Seed Dreaming, Bush Coconut, Fire Dreaming, Goanna Dreaming, and Grandmother’s Country, many of which she combines together in complex interwoven designs.
Michelle also shares the experience of everyday life by painting bush tucker, waterholes, hunting and people on Country. Audiences have come to understand how these are represented in Michelle’s iconography, which has made her narratives relatable to the wider community.
The vibrant colours and depth of Michelle’s works ‘Aboriginal Grandmother’s Country’ and ‘Aboriginal Women’s Ceremony’ that feature in this collection are exquisite visual stories of Aboriginal women.
Khatiia Possum
Khatija Possum is also a descendant of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, and like her mother Michelle, painting is in her blood.
Khatija’s journey as an artist began by observing and assisting her mother. In doing so, she learned the stories and techniques that influence her own work today. This passing on of knowledge highlights the beautiful practice of keeping culture alive as stories are passed from one generation to the next through art. This has become even more important as Khatija grows her own family and works to pass on her knowledge and culture.
Like her mother, Khatija depicts Aboriginal women’s stories in her art. Her work, ‘Aboriginal Women's Dreaming’ depicts women’s ceremonial sites surrounding Tjukurla, the traditional homelands of her great-grandmother in the western desert of Central Australia. In ‘Seven Sisters’, Khatija interprets the Dreamtime story of seven Napaltjarri women that are helped by the spirits at Uluru to become stars. Both artworks feature in the collection as beautiful examples of Khatija’s rich and creative storytelling.
Annette Nungala Peterson
Annette Nungala Peterson was born at Neutral Junction, between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. She began painting as a young girl and has come back to art in recent years.
Her work is rich and vibrant and is influenced by life in the desert around Neutral Junction. This includes depictions of bush tucker, desert landscapes and the visual spectacle of changing seasons in her signature patchwork style.
This can be seen in her work ‘Aboriginal Bush Medicine’ which is part of the collection. It tells the story of seed and growth of bush medicine after rain in a segmented yet cohesive work with great intricacy.
Annette extends her knowledge of art, language and culture to the next generation with her work at the Epenarra School.
Pammy Foster
Born in Tennant Creek, Pammy Foster is a Waramungu and Alyawarr woman from a family of artists. She started painting at an early age and refined her skills with the guidance of her aunt Susie Peterson and grandmother Jessie Peterson who are both well-known Wutunugurra artists.
Wutunugurra is a small community on the Hill Country of the North-Eastern edge of Iytwelepenty (the Davenport Ranges). Her strong connection to Country is represented in fine dot-work paintings of the landscapes and plants of the Wutunugurra and the stylistic influence of Epenarra art of the community.
The collection features her works ‘Aboriginal Epenarra’, ‘Aboriginal Bush Flowers Blooming’ and ‘Aboriginal View of Country’. In these artworks, Pammy recreates the complex patterns and texture of Wutunugurra through layers of paint to create vivid representations of her Country.
Supporting Artists
Supporting artists by showcasing their stories and work is at the heart of Koh Living. We are passionate about bringing this art to the wider community by making it more affordable and accessible through our unique, high-quality gifts and décor.
Koh Living’s founder Tui personally selects and commissions all artists. Together, the Aboriginal artists and Tui create products with meaningful designs that tell the stories of their culture and Country.
We are lucky to reside on Country with talented Aboriginal artists that want to share their work and culture. Koh Living is proud to support their work with collections like Sacred Country, active membership of the Indigenous Art Code and ethical trading of Aboriginal Art.
Aboriginal Art At Home
The Sacred Country collection includes a wide variety of lifestyle and décor products that make for great gifts for art lovers, or for yourself!
Our favourite is the tealight candleholders that give the artworks a mesmerizing soft glow when a candle is lit inside. Coasters and tea towels are also a useful way to add the bright colours of these works to your home. Notebooks, reusable bags and stainless-steel bottles make for beautiful artistic gifts that will always get used!
Bring these stories to life in your home by shopping the Sacred Country collection here.