River of Life artwork

About the artist

Krystal Hurst is a proud Worimi woman, artist, and the Creative Director of Gillawarra Arts. Originating from Taree on NSW's mid-north coast, Krystal is a jewellery designer and painter whose practice is centred on storytelling whilst reinvigorating and strengthening culture. Her inspiration derives from Country, memories, and stories woven in an innovative and contemporary style.

Krystal has been widely recognised for her work. She was awarded ACT NAIDOC Artist of the Year in 2017 and was the first-ever finalist from NSW for the prestigious Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) for her piece, "Resilience" in 2019.

Krystal was commissioned by Clean Energy Regulator to develop this painting in collaboration with contentgroup.

About the artwork

River of Life, 2022 was developed by Worimi artist, Krystal Hurst, in collaboration with contentgroup. Below is Krystal's story about her artwork.

The centre line represents the River of Life which flows through the country and within us all. It is a vision of people working together with nature to achieve environmental, social, and cultural outcomes.

The sense of movement and energy of the river speaks to the Ancestral creator - The Rainbow Serpent, who carved our rivers and streams bringing life to Mother Earth during the sacred era.

Shapes, lines and markings, make cultural patterns, which correspond to the earthy colours throughout the artwork. The red-orange colour represents our land - the deep connections to Ancestral bloodlines and memory, the responsibility to care for our landscapes, and brings together the applied traditional & western knowledge in cultural burning initiatives. People are meeting, sitting, yarning and working together to care for the country.

The yellow represents the sun - the giver of life, reminding us of the opportunity to harness the sun for efficient energy production to promote a cleaner, sustainable world. The green colour symbolises the earth, our ecosystems, and the bedrock beneath the earth's surface, which echoes deep Ancestral connections of community and culture and opportunities to harness natural energies in safe and sustainable ways. The blue tones represent water and the ocean - reminding us of the sacred elements of water and our collective responsibility to care for our natural waterways.

The two wooden panels are dedicated to our mob-burning Country, caring for our landscapes and animals, whilst working together.

These elements were chosen to represent the Clean Energy Regulator's vision to increase the use of renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions throughout Australia while respecting and caring for the environment and its elements.

The artwork is a combination of acrylic on canvas and carved cherry wood panels.

The making of the artwork

Watch the making of the artwork - River of Life, 2022.

Permitted use of the artwork

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) acknowledges that Krystal Hurst is the artist and the owner of the intellectual property of the artwork, River of Life, 2022.

Krystal Hurst and the CER have a licence agreement in place. The agreement provides CER with a licence to use the artwork and its graphic elements on agreed terms.

No-one else is permitted to use or reproduce the artwork or any of its graphic elements without express written permission from the CER and in accordance with the licence agreement.