Visual liberations and embodiments of ancestral memory: exploring the relational engagements of Indigenous queer artists

Queer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists embody relationality through visual explorations of ancestral and land-based connections. Although literature on relationality is on the rise, the discourse surrounding relational engagements of Indigenous queer artists is still emerging. This chapter explores the ways in which Indigenous queer artists embody the cultural memories of our ancestors through artistic mediums and relational connections to Country and community. It provides an analysis of the physical, emotional, and spiritual symbolism and imagery of various artworks by the author and other Indigenous queer artists, and explores how we communicate our relational connections to Country, ancestors, and each other through artistic mediums. This analysis aims to increase understanding of the artistic manifestations of relationality of Indigenous queer artists and exemplify how relationality is central to how queer Indigenous peoples identify, coexist, and thrive. These findings highlight alternative ways to understand and practice relationality through the works of queer Indigenous artists and provide insight into how different Indigenous artistic styles, motifs, and symbols are reflective of relational practices. Our methods of communicating our ancestral stories are deeply interwoven into how we relate to each other and Country as Indigenous queer peoples.