Wendy Hubert

Wendy Hubert is a highly regarded Yindjibarndi Elder from the Western Pilbara region. Born on Gurruma Country,1954, Hubert is deeply proud and protective of her Country, called Ngurra, and culture. She is a teacher, a linguist, and artist, working every day to honour the connection she has with her home.

A lifelong learner, Hubert recalls her father encouraging her when just a young girl, ‘to be independent...to learn.’[1] She devoted herself to learning their Ngurra Nyujunggamu (Creation times) and taking care to live by the Laws that had been given to them by Minkala, (God). As she grew older, Hubert embraced opportunities to give back and pay forward this knowledge. Michael Woodley, co-founder Juluwarlu Group, describes Hubert’s generous nature and commitment to education, remembering ‘She loved teaching, challenging our abilities. She urged us to do better, to rise to the call. To be courageous, to dream and be proud of who we were’[2]. (Woodley, 2024)

Wendy Hubert has lived through times of great change, and through each era she has continued to listen, to learn. She witnessed new systems brought in, sickness, and separation. Heard promises and recommendations. Things did change, but not in the ways that had been promised. Hubert stood strong.

In the early 1970’s, Hubert trained in Darwin to become an Aboriginal Health Worker. She returned to the Pilbara to care for family, and the broader community. In 2000, Yindjibarndi Elders formed Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation. Hubert became an active member and travelled with Juluwarlu Group documenting Ngurra, filming, recording language, Law, and sacred sites. Keeping culture safe for future generations.

It was only in 2017, when Yindjibarndi won their first Exclusive Native Title Claim, and Hubert collaborated with Juluwarlu women artists on a Thank you painting for the judge, that she ever considered making art. This significant painting now hangs proudly in Perth’s Federal Court of Australia.

Surprising herself, Hubert took to the practice of painting naturally, as yet another form of recording and sharing knowledge. Experimenting with natural and acrylic pigments, and paint pens, layers of colour applied and moved around creating and revealing memories upon the canvas. Her dynamic works are alive with the colours of the Pilbara, a continuous exchange between Hubert and Ngurra.

Hubert quickly gained recognition for her works and is now one of Western Australia’s most celebrated artists. In 2022, her paintings were exhibited in Tracks We Share at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, she was a finalist in the 2023 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards and featured in the 2024 Sydney Biennale.

Such is the appeal of Hubert’s work that it has recently been transformed into a range of fashion, and homewares, through collaboration with Australian label, Nancybird. Designer, and founder of Nancybird, Emily Wright, worked with Hubert, and Juluwarlu Group, to produce the collection, which brings Hubert’s works directly into the homes, and lives people around Australia, and the world. Providing an opportunity for these rich stories to be woven into the everyday, sparking thoughts, starting conversations, furthering the dialogue that she has been working with all her life.

Wendy Hubert teaches us that we are our lived experience and our responsibility to others, including the environment, is never-ending. ‘I paint our Ngurra because it is everything to me. Our Ngurra makes everything its own. A thousand years from now, it will still be as it will be. Our home.’[3] (Hubert, 2024). But also, that there is no time like the present to get started, it is never too late to make a change, and you can be proud of who you are.

Stockmen and the first plane over the Pilbara" [20252P1], Hubert, Wendy.

Reference List

[1] I came around in Circles, Hubert, 2024, p11

[2] Aunty Wendy, M. Woodley, 2024, in I came around in Circles, Hubert, 2024, p21

[3] I came around in Circles, Hubert, 2024, p56

Yindjibarndi words used in this resource are referenced in the glossary of Wendy Hubert’s book, ‘I came around in Circles’, 2024, p93

Full reference for I came around in Circles:

I came around in Circles. Wendy Hubert. Published by Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation & Block. 2024.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people value their relationship with Country in the same way we value relationships with another person, there is not one without the other. Wendy Hubert honours Ngurra through her artistic practice, constantly listening and interpreting the truths that are revealed to her. This powerful sense of connection is evident in Hubert’s work, Nyun nhuu nha, 2024, depicting a special place on Yindjibarndi Country, where people can safely swim in the pools, and rest in the shade, as some relief from the desert heat.

In return, Hubert herself, has been described as a safe place by those who spend time with her. A nurturer, and teacher, always looking out for others, particularly the younger generation, she is committed to empowering young people with their truths and history to keep moving forward through their lives.

Who makes you feel safe? If you were to design a space inspired by this person, what would it look and feel like?
Create a mood board of images that speaks of the way you feel in this company. Is it cool, quiet, still, or bright, busy, and fun?
Go further and design an interior, which reflects the atmosphere you enjoy with your chosen person. Consider furniture, textiles, lighting, which work together to provide a safe and inviting environment.

In 2023, Australian fashion label, Nancybird, began a collaboration with Wendy Hubert and Juluwarlu Group, to produce a collection of fashion designs, later extended into homewares. Hubert’s paintings were reimagined as textiles making them even more accessible and visible to a greater audience.

Research and investigate this, and other significant artist collaborations, to gain insight into the process of turning Art into product.

What are the benefits to businesses, and artists, from collaborations of this kind?
What makes Hubert’s collaboration with Nancybird significant within the Australian fashion industry?
What ethical considerations should be taken into account when engaging in this type of work? (e.g. intellectual property, shared profits, licensing, cultural safety)?
Other collaborations to explore: Wah-Wah. Lisa Waup x Ingrid Verner. Twoobs x Cungelella Art (See Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in the Classroom 2, p110).

Wear you heart on your sleeve!

Design a textile that represents a place of importance to you.

Begin by creating an original work of art inspired by a landscape or environment that you have a personal or emotional connection to. Your work should express the memory of place through pattern, texture, colour, and form.

Use paint, pastels, collage to make your image by hand or experiment with digital drawing or image creating software.

Scan and upload image to an editing program (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) and use the software to adjust scale, colour, tone, and composition until you are happy with your final image.

Final digital designs can be printed onto fabric through businesses such as Digital Fabrics Australia allowing students to then make their own original garment, or interior product. Alternatively print onto transfer sheets to iron onto t-shirts, bags, etc.

Mix it up! Break out of the box and experiment with ways to make images, just as Wendy Hubert has done.

Replace paper with transparency, acrylic, or glass sheet.
Apply a base coat of acrylic paint. Use a combination of colours and tones.
While the paint is still wet, use tools, such as cotton buds, skewers, fingertips, the end of a paintbrush, to blend and move the paint around creating texture.
Allow to dry.
On the reverse side of the sheet, use paint pens to create finer line drawings and details on the surface.
Display finished works in windows to allow the change in natural light over the days, and months, to make its own mark on the work.

This project could be achieved by painting directly onto an existing window or glass door if water soluble paints/inks are used. Testing paint removal process recommended before starting project!

Life Lessons

As a lifelong learner and educator, Wendy Hubert inspires us to value the teachings of ancestors and empower our children with knowledge.

What is the most valuable piece of advice someone has given you?
Who gave you this advice and why did it stick with you?
Collate these learnings as a class. Present on a pinboard, window display, digital Padlet, or publish a class book.

Put it in a Podcast

Take this idea further by turning each life lesson into a podcast episode where student hosts interview relevant guests about the things that have impacted their life, providing opportunity to pass on knowledge to the current generation. Guests could include, parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, student leaders.

Come up with a catchy title for the show, such as Words of the wise, Pearls from the past, or Lessons from legends.
Listen to fellow Juluwarlu Group member, Wimiya Woodley, interviewed on ABC Kids listen podcast, Little Yarns for inspiration.
Take a look at our Start at Home Music and Movement in response to the Juluwarlu Art Group.