OFF COUNTRY

Delicately composed yet deeply political, Herd’s work explores themes of resistance, identity, and cultural memory. As Professor Margo Ngawa Neale (National Museum of Australia) aptly describes, Herd’s work is like “an iron fist in a velvet glove.” Off Country marks a personal shift in focus for the artist. While her previous exhibitions illuminated the veiled history of frontier resistance—particularly in the region of her Mother’s country in North Queensland—these new works also turn inward. They reflect on her own experiences of displacement, resilience, and identity erasure, while celebrating community and cultural reconnection. “Off Country encapsulates a profound sense of displacement and expresses the trials, triumphs and truths along the lifelong journey back to Mother’s country,” says Herd. “It speaks to the experience of being born separated from ancestral lands, attempted identity erasure through state and faith-based care institutions, and the light found in connecting with other Black Fullas to create new communities and subcultures that helped many like me find their way home.”

NORTH QUEENSLAND SHIELD DESIGNS
These works pay tribute to the Bama warriors of the North Queensland rainforests in the Atherton Tableland region. These warriors fought valiantly over many generations to defend their ancestral lands from frontier expansion. The geometrical designs in the work reference the traditional painted shields unique to the region. These shields were not only objects of defence but also symbols of identity and conveyors of cultural knowledge and place. 

Shield designs are my way of connecting to my culture and have been an abiding research interest of mine for over 25 years. Shields were and still are an important part of North Queensland heritage and culture. My shield designs are presented as a stark reminder of truth, frontier resistance and the aftermath of cultural identity stripped bare.
            
PINHOLES
I have used pinholes to highlight the bloody intersection of two cultures. They symbolise the many rainforest shields punctured with bullet holes during these frontier conflicts. As Christie Palmerston, an explorer at the time so chillingly wrote:
"Their shields may answer very well for the purposes of their wars, but my rifle drilled through these as if they were sheets of paper."
          

WARRIORS 
These historical figures were garnered and embellished from the artist’s research into frontier conflict in Queensland. They are seen brandishing shields and spears in acts of resistance and defiance.  

CAMOUFLAGE & TARGETS 
The overlaying elements suggest defence and disguise- as a form of cultural identity- that has become a mode of survival.  Camouflage remains a bold icon of modern war and one that also relates to the (documented and un-recorded) conflicts, dispersals and dispossession waged on Aboriginal people by colonial expansion since 1788.  Conflated with the image of a target, these combine to take aim at historical and contemporary perceptions of these injustices. As we stand our ground, this piece asks broader society to lift their gaze, look through the camouflage and remove this target from the hearts and minds of Aboriginal people. 
 

OFF COUNTRY MAPS
The "Off Country Maps" are a visceral response to the AIATSIS and Norman Tindale maps. They aren't about literal accuracy; they're designed to continue shattering the myth of terra nullius and underscore the immense, pervasive loss of Aboriginal lives and land. The colonial frontier spared no First Nation, clan, or tribe from tribulation. Pinholes scar the paper, marking the frontier conflicts, forced dispersals, and missionary campaigns that displaced Aboriginal people across the country. The "country elements" encircling the maps mimic camouflage, highlighting the systemic erasure and invisibility of Aboriginal people within colonial systems. Yet, their bold aesthetic declares a powerful truth: we're still here. Unsettled but unbroken, we continue to resist, rebel, and reclaim our rights to this land.

SHIELD DESIGN GARDEN LIGHTS
In an exciting evolution of her practice, Herd has introduced a series of six sculptural garden lights—three crafted from stainless steel and three from Corten steel. These works translate her signature pinholed shield designs into perforated metal forms, allowing light to shine through the patterns. The result is a striking interplay of shadow, steel, and storytelling, extending her cultural motifs into the realm of sculptural installation.
 

IRVINE BANK MASSACRE 2005
Shield were used by Aboriginal people in Far North Queensland to ward off the intuder, enemy and invaders of the land. Shields were used as amour, weapon, cover and to safeguard in battle. The Aboriginal peoples of North Queensland, in a reponse to the invasion of thier land, chose the shield as a symblic repesentation of resistance. And because of the distinctive nature of North Queensland shields. Shields were shown to be no protection from the guns and bullets that were used against Aboriginal people.

The shield project traces my own connections to this country and maps a history of conflict in the region over time. Sewing was one avenue by which I could fuse past experiences and skills as a costume designer into the act of making. It was a meaningful way to connect myself to the turbulent history of this country and my people. At the same time the work articulates an intense sense of disconnection that I have personally experienced being born ‘out of country’ and the affect that displacement has had on all Aboriginal people.

The work reflects my own personal prespectives concerning what might be a fitting memorial for the people of Far North Queensland. Articulated through this work is a firm connection to the land and culture, which remains the primary inspiration for many Urban Indigenous artists today.

All Text Courtesy of the Artist & FireWorks Gallery