‘walawaani ngayaga walbanja-yuin ngaranggal Natalie Bateman’.

Safe travels to and from your destination, I am a walbanja-yuin woman. Our language group is ‘dhurga’. The totem for our Yuin tribe is ‘wambaara’-black duck. This is my mother’s country. Our great grandparents had the last tribal marriage here and our ancestors were born on Gulaga Mountain, (our place of dreaming.)

We grew up in Sydney, La Perouse and Maroubra Beach. I was born in 1972.

Kadoo (ocean) is our Great nans family name, they from the Batemans Bay Nelligen area and Milton/Ulludulla. We are sea people.

Acrylics, watercolours, and Japanese inks are the mediums I enjoy using. Mainly using triangles sometimes dots. And freely expressing the love I see in country, also the upbringing we had with our grandparents, this essence goes into the paintings.

Using triangles represents my DNA, who I am and my strong connection to this land and country we all belong to.

This land of ours gives so much energy. It fills my heart knowing our ancestors walked  country singing dancing and fishing , we are storytellers, nurturers, hunters and protectors of our family and environment. All this love and connection is channelled through my paintings, I love creating vibrant uplifting paintings that tell of the way that it used to be, as told by my grandparents.