By the River

Art Gallery of New South Wales

4 July–8 November 2026

Warami (hello)

I grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, on Garigal country, where surfing and being in the ocean shaped how I first understood place. It is also where the saltwater meets freshwater at the mouth of the Dyarubbin/Hawkesbury River.

As a kid, I felt disconnected from my Dharug identity. But the river has always been my constant, and surfing in saltwater gave me a connection to country before I fully understood it.

Over time, I have come to see how my own path is like the burra, the long-finned eel, who moves from saltwater back towards freshwater. This shift has allowed me to reconnect with my Dharug culture and the stories of my ancestors and family, the Boorooberongal people.

The meeting of salt and freshwater is important to me. It’s not just something physical; it’s a zone of convergence where memory, movement and cultural return intersect.

For me, culture isn’t fixed; it moves like the river — flowing, adapting and finding its way. This exhibition is about return, even when the journey is not always linear.