Born in Healesville, Mandy is a Wurundjeri-willam (Wurundjeri-baluk patriline) artist and Traditional Custodian of Melbourne and surrounds. Mandy also has connections to the Dja Dja wurrung and Ngurai illam wurrung language groups of the Central/Eastern Kulin Nation on her fathers side and German on her mothers.
Throughout the last 25+ years Mandy has produced carvings, etchings, prints, airbrushed works, ceramic pieces (carved, painted and produced), murals, corporate logos, children’s clothing and public art works. Today she specialises in acrylic paintings and digital works.
Wurundjeri are a carving culture and use many symmetrical lines and diamond motifs. Mandy’s style consists of these traditional motifs of south-eastern Australia, blended with my own contemporary interpretation. The stories behind her designs all revolve around nature, animals, stories of Mandy’s people, personal experience and my family.
Mandy gained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Aboriginal Archaeology in 2011, worked for the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages for 6 years and am now PhD candidate studying how Aboriginal people connect to Country, off Country. Mandy also a cultural mentor to young Indigenous girls, through learning and teaching of culture, language, dance and ceremony, elements of which also guide my artworks.
