I know I'm home when I see the unique shapes of the Mountain range that curls around Widgee. I find peace whenever I am on a Mountain looking out over the land. Nature plays a large part in my life and I draw most of my creativity from her.

I connect strongly with Biomimicry when thinking about design. However, with my art it is more about creating something that people can feel a connection with, drawing on what nature makes me feel and attempting to recreate it in my work.

The saltwater is what keeps me connected to all these places of significance to me and I know that we will always remember each other through water memory. The land helps me helps me stay grounded . Connection to country and art has always been prominent themes in my everyday life and helps balance the busy modern life we live.

The place I have the most connection to is in Yuggera Country, which is where I used to visit my Granddad. His house was right across the road from this park, which in hindsight, was in pretty awful condition. It was unbelievably dry, no trees, no shade or seats, and the playground and the swings were made from this old timber that gave you splinters and burned your skin if you didn’t have long pants on. It sounds terrible, but there was also this fenced off body of water that was just filled with turtles, and fish, and eels. I have such vivid memories of spending hours sitting in that hot park, covered in sandy soil, listening to the screech of cockatoos and watching the aquatic life through this rusty chain-link fence. It’s one of my fondest memories and one of the only times I really remember feeling extremely connected to the place I was in.

My name is Lulu. I am studying Bachelor of Design majoring in Visual Communication. I was born in Taipei, Taiwan. However, I moved to Australia with my family after I finished primary school, but since my grandparents still live there, I still go back to visit them.

I chose a street photo that I think represents well where I usually live. Taipei is a busy city with many buildings and motorcycles on the streets.

I feel connected to the busy life of the city with lots of people and the atmosphere is lively.

Despite Meanjin not being my ancestral land, it has become my home. I've spent a significant portion of my life in central queensland learning the traditional stories and histories of the Darumbal, Bayali, and Guren Gureng peoples as many are related by blood are considered to be an extended family.

Being a First Nation Australian, my connection with my Aboriginal family and traditional land was severed by the Department of Child Safety in the 2000s. This has left me with a sense of disconnection from my country, fostering a predominantly survival-based relationship with the urban environment of Brisbane.\

In my art and photography, I strive to depict the city as a gritty and less pristine environment compared to the simplicity of remote life. I aim to convey the trade-off between these two worlds, highlighting the complexities and challenges of navigating the urban landscape while reflecting on the contrast with the purity of a more traditional, remote lifestyle. I believe I would like to do the same within this subject.

I feel like I'm home when I hear "kansai-ben", a dialect of Japanese. In my home university, there are few people who speak it, but in my hometown, almost all the people around speak it, so I realise the fact that I come back to my home town.

The picture above shows the Kiyomizudera temple. It was built about a thousand years ago, and it is a symbol of Kyoto.

I was born in Emerald on Gayiri Country, though I spent most of my life growing up on Kabi Kabi Country on the Sunshine Coast. I now live in Meanjin on Turrbal and Jagera Country.

Though I was born Australia, I have a very strong connection to my Māori heritage on my mother's side. I am very proud of my family's culture and have recently been educating myself on where I truly come from.

The following is my Whakapapa, which is a traditional introduction of my Māori identity.

Ko Moehau Tōku Maunga

Ko Tīkapa Te Moana

Ko Piako Te Awa

Ko Hauraki Te Iwi

Te Hãpu Ko Pãoa

Ko Ngãti Maru

Ko Hauraki Iti Te Marae

Marutuahu Te Tangata

Ko Tainui Te Waka

Ko Kuia Doreen Rawiri

Ko Mama Sharlene Bond

Ko Danyn Andrews

Toku Ingoa

As a designer, I am interested in utilising regenerative design methods such as Circular Design, and Biomimicry. I hope to utilise these principles in my design career to aid in maintaining and restoring the land on which we live.