Reclaiming Indigenous knowledge, stories and representation through medical-based art.
Here we will find a way to bridge the divide between patient and provider and learn about ourselves and our bodies in the process…
My name is Kayla and I’m a Meriam Mer Nation woman and the creator behind Within Creations.
Some of our favourite artworks from the Shop
This image is representative of our universal first mother, the Earth. We are born to our Mother Earth, and as the stories tell us, we will return to her.
* if you are interested in international shipping (outside of Australia) please contact me directly on kayla.arabenabyrnes@gmail.com to process your order *
Here lies the heart, the emotional and energetic centre of our bodies. The powerful straight lines through each chamber signify our life force and internal songlines. Individual heart cells beat in synchronicity, but this print shows how each beat can relate to the connection of heartbeats between families and generations. The witnessing of the heartbeat in utero, until it’s very last. It honours our ancestors, those that came before us and those that will comes after us. We are all connected to the energetic heart lines that weave through lineages.
* if you are interested in international shipping (outside of Australia) please contact me directly on kayla.arabenabyrnes@gmail.com to process your order *
Babies' series
This series was developed after reading about various foetal positions in a woman's uterus that were seen as 'undesirable' or medicalised as a problem that will hinder an otherwise smooth birth. I couldn't help but think that babies have been floating in the primordial waters of their mothers' uteruses for thousands of years without healers and midwives having a clear picture of how they were positioned.
Before colonisation, Indigenous women were guided through birth with the wisdom of their healers, the strength of their ancestors, and the natural world around them – regardless of their baby's position. In this series, you will find nine different foetal lies in a woman's pelvis and the backgrounds representing traditional birthing places these 'difficult cases' were guided into the world.
All of the babies have a motif in the pelvis which relates to ancestors. During pregnancy, mother and baby are held and supported by their ancestral lineage. The different backgrounds relate to numerous stories, songlines, energy pathways, totems, kinship systems and dreamings a mother will birth into.
* if you are interested in international shipping (outside of Australia) please contact me directly on kayla.arabenabyrnes@gmail.com to process your order *
