Jacinda Hayes b. 1992

Jacinda is the granddaughter of renowned artist and respected Anmatyerre elder, Margaret Scobie (1948-2024). Like her grandmother, Jacinda paints the Bush Medicine Leaf design. This painting represents the native medicinal flora that grows in Jacinda’s ancestral country, which is collected and used by the women to treat certain ailments. One of the many traditional ways of preparing bush medicine is by grinding the dried leaves into a fine powder, and mixing them with animal fats to extract the medicinal qualities and create a healing balm. Bush medicine is also a deeply spiritual aspect of Aboriginal culture, and song and ceremony are still performed to honour the spirit of the plants, in the hope that they will regenerate and continue to provide for them. Jacinda’s brush strokes depict the leaves drying in the sun, creating a mesmerizing rhythm across the canvas.