I am from the Kokatha Tribe in the Western Desert of South Australia, and from my earliest memories I have carried a quiet knowing, that my life’s calling was to create and to heal. I learned to listen and watch for the signs, and when they came in the early 2000s, I followed without hesitation. Those signs led me onto my Tjumu’s (Grandfather’s) Country, where the red earth, the wind, and the wisdom of the Aunties became my teachers. There, I was shown how to wild-harvest Irmangka-Irmangka, the bush medicine that has sustained our people for countless generations. Every step, every lesson, was part of fulfilling my Ancestors’ dream, to carry its power beyond our lands and into the hearts and hands of those who need it.
In the beginning, it was just me, Shane, the kids and the medicine. We poured it into whatever jars we could find, even tiny Vegemite jars, not because it was simple, but because it was real. Every jar carried more than a remedy. It held the essence of Country, the spirit of our people, and the truth that our Ancestors still walk beside us.
Palyani, pronounced Bahl-ya-nee, was born from a meeting that felt written by the universe. I had followed the work of renowned Energy Healer Charlie Goldsmith for years, drawn to his gift for helping others. When my daughter Taylah was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 18 and endured relentless headaches through her teens, I reached out to him in hope. His work brought her relief and a new quality of life.
Not long after, Charlie shared his daughter Rocky’s struggle with severe eczema with me, a condition that resisted every treatment they had tried. I offered our Irmangka-Irmangka, trusting in the medicine and the ways it had always worked for our people. Within two weeks, her hand was healed, and the eczema never returned. That moment was a turning point, a reminder from spirit that this medicine was meant to be shared far and wide. Charlie and I joined forces along with Erika Geraerts, founder of beauty brand Fluff, to bring it to the world, each of us bringing our own knowledge, stories, and strengths to the work.
But my path is not just bush medicine. I am an artist whose paintings live in homes across the globe, whose designs travel far and wide on products, and whose commissions carry the energy of culture, memory, and Country. I am also a writer, sharing my life stories, how I feel, what I dream, my culture, my beliefs, in a brutally raw, truth-telling way. My words are as much a part of my healing work as my art and my medicine. They are unfiltered, alive, and grounded in the honesty that our stories deserve.
Everything I do, every jar I pour, every brushstroke I make, every word I write, is for my family. It is for our children who walk beside me, for the generations who came before, and for those yet to come. It is for the love of my culture and its people and the belief that healing can be carried through both hands and heart. My dream is simple but boundless: to heal through Irmangka-Irmangka, through my art, and through my words, so that everyone who receives them feels, even for a moment, the strength, warmth, and spirit that has carried my people for thousands of years.
Nina xx
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