82-23 – We all got a Mother – Jack Green

Artist: Jack Green
We all got a Mother – 2023
Acrylic on Canvas – 71 x 71 cm
We’ve all got a mother, doesn’t matter if you’re a dog or a cat. They got a mother too. A mother looks after her young ones and protects them. We all look after our mothers and keep them safe. It’s the same for the Earth, she’s our mother. I painted her here, as an old lady, standing strong with her arms outstretched holding the land and the trees. All the lines around her represent the spirits in the land. They are powerful and everywhere. Flowing through her are four rivers, Robinson, Foelsche, Wearyan and McArthur. These rivers with their waters and food have kept us Aboriginal people alive for thousands and thousands of years. Today, they are under threat from mining and fracking. At McArthur River a mining company, Glencore, cut the river and diverted its waters and dug a massive open cut pit right at the resting place of the Rainbow Serpent. Next to the river they made a big waste rock dump that leaks acid and heavy metals into our waters and food. This is how they treat our Mother Earth. Not many people seem to care. It’s me fighting the company trying to make them clean up their mess. I feel like a small man fighting a huge wildfire with a tiny hose.