key points
- Carey has centrerd his latest collab around local stories and community
- A portion of each item sold from his Billabong collection will be donated to Kulai Pre School Aboriginal Corporation
- Carey said he loves creates art that can be shared and teaches culture
In his latest offering, a collection called Gumgali Yuludarla, Otis Carey has drawn on a story that is close to his heart.
It comes from some of his earliest memories of surfing at Macauleys Headland, on Gumbaynggirr country on the Northern New South Wales, Coffs Coast.
"[For this collaboration] I thought back to when I was a kid and what's been the one thing that I've always thought about being down at the beach. And it's always been the goanna," he said.
Standing out from the surrounding jagged and 'finger-like' rocks just off the coast at Macauleys is a smooth and rectangular rock, said to be the head of the goanna in the Gumgali dreaming story.
"Gumgali is one of the more common stories around the area and I've known about that story from a very young age," Carey explained.
"I've always thought about it when I've been in the surf there. You always say, 'oh I wonder if I'll see a goanna today', it's always sort of there."
The story describes a young goanna running away from hunters, down the surrounding coastal hills and into the water to safety.
'On the right path'
Before he creates any artwork or shares stories from his country, the artist always consults with his Elders and community to make sure it's right.
He also looks for other ways to know he's on track.
"When I first designed it, I was at the park with the kids and I noticed there used to be this sculpture with a big goanna down there at the park and it was gone. I was like, 'that's weird, where'd the sculpture go?'"
"And then as I looked up, there were two goannas around the swing and I was like, 'whoa, that's cool,'" he said.
Carey's latest collection with Billabong. Source: Supplied
First standing out as both a natural and 'unorthodox' athlete , over recent years Carey has also come to make a name for himself through his artwork and sculpture, with fans such as Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth commissioning his artwork.
But he says it's just as rewarding for him to share his culture and identity with a wider audience through his clothing design collaborations.
"I just love being able to create something that we can all share together. It creates a safe space for everyone to have conversations around culture and learn things from each other," he said.
"Fine art stuff on canvas is great. I love doing that too, but the art world is so wishy-washy and just egg-shelly."
Giving back to community
Carey describes his work with Billabong as fun and empowering.
"They always say I can do whatever I want [with my designs' but at the end of the day I want to be able to lift my community up, share my culture, and also give back at a grassroots level," Carey said.
He makes sure his community are also involved creatively in his projects.
For the visual release of this collection, local kids, dancers and family were all a part of the creative process.
And a portion of each item sold from the collection will be donated to Kulai Pre School Aboriginal Corporation, the pre-school that Carey attended along with many of his family, and now his own two children.
"A lot of the local Aunties work there, all my brother's children go there and a lot of my cousin's kids. So it's all the community and the family, they're all involved with Kulai."
"So [this kind of project] it's a really good feeling for all of us."
