Says Tiarna Herczeg of her work: “‘Wanyu yundu ngunnga – bungal kaki yundu milka janay’, meaning ‘What you find when you listen’ is the foundation of my practice, my culture, and beliefs. I remember calling my Aunty Leann who lives in Rockhampton, North Queensland a few years back after I was being chased by a shadow/tree spirit on my parents’ property in the Blue Mountains. I said to her, “Why me, Aunt?” and she said, “Listen, you’re special because you believe, the more you believe the more you see.

“My nephew is the same. I took him for a walk on my parents’ property and he stopped right before the spot where I was chased without knowing and said, “What was that?” and then refused to go down there. He was eight years old at the time. He’s afraid of the dark.

“I don’t live with my parents anymore and I don’t have any mob here in the city, but I don’t feel alone. I have never been. All I have to do is listen. I hear my ancestors in the birds calling of a morning. I have no white noise. My own internal dialogue isn’t my own. When I feel beaten, I have the strength of them. Sometimes when I walk I remember to hold my head up and relax my shoulders, to walk with pride… for them. I’m always listening, even in my dreams.

“It’s my belief that art has the ability to carry history and therefore my work, as abstract as it may be, is inherently political as a proud First Nations woman.

“My practice is intuitive listening, and my work tells me to go home.”