Devinia Wainwright

My name is Devinia Wainwirght and I was born and grew up in Carnarvon. I am a descendant of the Erubian people of Erub (Darnley) island in the Torres Strait where my dad was born. We also have connections to Yarrabah Aboriginal community north of Cairns. My traditional language is Merium Mir, and my maternal family are Australian descendants of England.

I have recently moved back to Carnarvon after living away for 11 yrs. I lived in Victoria studying Social Work and Art Therapy, then moved into working with art managing an art gallery at Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre and coordinating the Visual Arts course at Deakin University in Geelong.

My passion for art started as a teenager when I would enjoy sketching and drawing some of my favourite musicians. Over the years in my many different roles of employment, I have always integrated art and art projects into my work in many forms from family art activities, community art projects and corporate art projects. These have all played a part in bringing people together to share and learn about our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

I have been able to pursue my interest in working with mental health and well-being in which I use art in counselling and therapy as a way of self-expression, healing, releasing tension and negative energy, which helps with managing anxiety, depression, emotional regulation and general well-being. I love to use art for healing with people and also as a way of bringing us together.

I have been lucky enough to enjoy a variety of art from painting with acrylic on canvas, etching, drawing & illustration and more recently textile printing with acrylic on cotton. I tend to create what intuitively comes to me and my art usually shows a connection to the ocean.