A big congratulations to Meeza Humphries! You may recognise Meeza from around the Waalitj Foundation, where she currently works in our Marketing and Communications team.
In collaboration with her siblings, Meeza designed this year’s Geelong Cats guernsey for the Sir Doug Nicholls round. The opportunity was presented to Meeza by her brother, Lawson, who currently plays for the Geelong Cats. The process took over 12 months of planning, designing and finalising with her family.
The artwork is titled ‘Saltwater Stories’, representing Meeza’s family and a typical day in the Kimberley.
“On any given day you will see pindan red dirt, meters away from turquoise water.”
Meeza said she utilized Aboriginal symbolism throughout her design, to represent the Kimberley.
“Each animal symbolises the value that they have played and continue to play in our culture not only to us as people, but also the water life in the Kimberleys.”
Meeza worked with her family to develop the design, including her older sister Stephanie, brothers, Joshua and Lawson. Further ideas were influenced from her mother, Jodi, and her father Ross. The Wandjina (Namarali) and snake (Oongood) visualise significant figures in their family beliefs, the Oomiday and Worora people, as givers of family, dreamtime and country. The symbols and colours tell a story to the life in the furthest and widest part of Australia, the beautiful Kimberley‘s, her home.
Meeza values her connection to country, creating art pieces and following her childhood dream.
“When I first saw the sample, I was so proud. I teared up a tiny bit because it was always my childhood dream to do this and Lawson surprised me with the sample one in person, so it was cool to actually see it in person rather than on a screen”
Well done Meeza! We are extremely proud of her dedication and hard work, and we look forward to seeing more of her amazing artwork in the future.
