My lense on country

The last few years has been one of introspection of my own values and cultural practices. I have been fortunate to work and yarn with tutors and people around this country and reflect on my experiences and how we shape our worldviews. As a result, When navigating Australia's architectural sphere my own privilege is inescapable. Initially it is easy to be tied down by architectural romanticism and colonial structures nevertheless we must address its part as a highly invasive colonial tool to dispossession and gentrification of Indigenous lands. 

I have been fortunate to grow up exposed to many worldviews and beautiful landscapes. For much of my life I grew up running through bush land in the Ku-ring-Gai National park and fishing in New Zealand. In the years following school I have spent every non working day trying to reach places around this country. My travels have taken me across deserts, open planes and backwater alone on a rattling bike and many trips surrounded by friends in some of Australia’s most spectacular camping locations. Moreover, I now call home a new place on Biripi land in Bindera surrounded by the spectacular Barrington National Park where my family have started grazing cattle and have the intention to look after the land for generations to come. I would like to acknowledge Country as a formidable landscape and of deep importance to my own growth as a young person. It is something not to conquer but to learn from and admire.