Ochre, Body and Place. With Freya Joy Parre

I encountered Freya's glorious ochre paintings on Instagram. My heart blew open. I deeply wanted to speak with her, about her experiences of Place and of co-creating her paintings with the land. In Freya's words, 'I was born on precious Menang Nyoongar Land in Western Australia; this is my home. Despite being Non-Indigenous and therefore lacking a direct ancestral connection to my home land I nevertheless experience a deep felt sense of belonging to place. My life is centred in exploring and celebrating the deep roots that connect us as humans to our mother, the land. It’s my belief that intimate connection with the earth is integral for our wellbeing and that of the land herself. My art practice and the paintings that I create are this exploration in motion, full of curiosity, play and listening. Each painting is a collaboration of collected natural pigments (paint) found in my immediate environment, water that flows through country and my body as a paintbrush. However foremost, it is the spirit of place dancing through all of these elements that I see as the true artist.' Freya's work can be seen on IG @_freyajoy_ More from The Saltwater Songlines can be found at www.saltwatersonglines.com