Shadow Spirit: In conversation with Aunty Zeta Thomson

The esteemed Wurundjeri and Yorta Yorta Elder joins curator Kimberley Moulton, to talk about her arts practice, her projection on Hamer Hall and the importance of storytelling in culture.

For RISING 2023, Aunty Zeta presents Spirits Of The Land, a work that shares the belief systems and stories of spirit ecologies that relate to Yorta Yorta and Wurundjeri country. Spirits Of The Land takes you into the stories Aunty Zeta was told as child and the cultural knowledge her elders, including her Grandmother and mother, shared with her and her older siblings.

Aunty Zeta Thomson is a respected Elder and descendant of the Yarra Yarra Clan of the Wurundjeri people through her father and grandfather, Alexander Briggs. She is a descendant of the Ulupna Clan of the Yorta Yorta people on her mother and grandmother, Teresa (Yarmuk) Clements. A renowned artist, culture teacher and advocate for the rights of Aboriginal prisoners in Victoria, Aunty Zeta retains strong connections to her ancestral homelands.

She has had a lifetime involvement in Aboriginal affairs, working at a community level, like many of her family members. She has supported land rights and Aboriginal rights with her family. Aunty Zeta was the first Victorian Aboriginal artist to have work exhibited at Melbourne Museum’s Bunjilaka Gallery.

Her paintings are inspired by the family stories and her work shares her culture.