The Healing Power of Wayne’s Art

Wayne Davis is a Kaytej artist and Waalitj Hub Client who was featured in the Waalitj Foundation (Healing Stories) Art Exhibition at Central Park Perth this past July.  

Wayne’s art engages all five senses, inviting viewers to connect spiritually, physically, and emotionally. The traditional stories he shares reflect a lifelong commitment to preserving Aboriginal culture in a meaningful and culturally safe way. 

“My artistry began a long time ago when I went back to my traditional lands and found my cultural identity and learned my cultural lore. My Mother was part of the Stolen Generation. She was taken from her ancestral lands at just 3 years of age.  

The intense trauma from that cultural upheaval is central to my ongoing journey of intergenerational healing. I began painting my stories, sharing certain cultural obligations and maintaining ancient ways and practices through the art.” 

Wayne spent over seven years studying traditional healing under his grandfather, Nangari-Jimmy. Drawing from this knowledge, Wayne incorporates spiritual healing practices into his artwork, which often depicts sacred stories and symbols in a contemporary way. 

“Some of it is based on water, land, a lot of conservation stuff, a lot of healing. In some of my pieces, it’s really around the traditional healing. The Nangari way of healing.” 

Feeling a deep connection to his own ancestral lands and a calling to preserve his cultural practices, Wayne moved to Kaytej country near Alice Springs and began painting his own stories, integrating his cultural obligations with contemporary art.  

He has established himself as a respected Elder within his community, having participated in cultural lore ceremonies from a young age and ensuring this knowledge was passed to his son.   

Wayne said the support he has received from the Waalitj Hub has helped him learn about commercialising his artwork and allowed him better position himself in the art selling market. 

“The Waalitj Hub has supported me through business mentoring, coaching around what a website might look like, and having that two way learning so I can share where I’ve been and what I need to learn more of, how to better position myself in the market of selling art. It is a technique, I have always been on the other end, as it was based on healing. It’s a therapy for me, good therapy, putting healing into ourselves and turning it into commercialisation, in a traditional contemporary way.” 

You can find out more Wayne’s artwork and get in touch with him on his website here. 

The Waalitj Hub supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanting to start, grow or sustain their businesses through a combination of in-house business coaching and access to professional support and is supported by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Corporate partners. Find out more.