NIOKA Nalder is a talented 13-year-old artist who is creating work well beyond her age.
When The Guardian caught up with her, it was apparent her everyday life is anything but normal.
Nioka’s family have their roots well placed in the Swan Hill community and the Wamba Wamba, Mutthi Mutthi and Yorta Yorta tribes.
Mum Sarah Nalder (nee Kelly) said her daughter showed signs of natural talent from a very young age.
“My grandmother was an amazing Indigenous artist, but Nioka had never really seen any of her work and so her journey of development has really just stemmed from her own interest and enjoyment,” she said.
Nioka is a deep thinker who has an uncanny ability to capture the stories of her ancestors based upon her own experiences and interpretations.
Her work is varied but she shows tremendous talent in the realms of line art.
Line painting, like dot painting, is an intricate array of lines that form to tell stories.
This style of art is the traditional style of her direct ancestors from the region.
The stories Nioka is focussed on are those around her cultural background and incorporate strong use of symbols, animals and both vibrant and natural colours.
While her work is complex and well beyond her years, it continues to progress largely because of the unique studio her parents have provided – the Australian landscape.
The Nalder family have three children and two years ago sold their home in Swan Hill to follow the dream of travelling Australia while living in a caravan.
With Nioka, 10-year-old Kyarna and two-year old Lue in tow, parents Sarah and Henry have already completed a lap of Australia, providing Nioka with amazing inspiration for her art.
“I’ve had a chance to learn a lot by travelling,” Nioka said.
“I’m getting a chance to see places and hear the stories first-hand and I get my ideas from that.
“We have spoken with a lot of people and learnt a lot about culture by doing tours and things like that, and I enjoy telling those stories through my art.
“To begin with I was mostly doing water colours as they are lightweight and easy to travel around with.
“But now I have a new paint set and I am also doing a lot of digital art on my iPad.”
It was Sarah who suggested Nioka submit a piece of work for the Yana Waingi show recently hosted at Riverside Park by Swan Hill Council.
Her piece, PANDYIL, meaning “Murray cod” in Wamba Wamba language, was created on an iPad and selected to be part of the dynamic laser show.
Nioka describes the piece as “a representation of the Murray River Dreamtime creation story and the majestic Murray cod swimming and carving out the Murray River through my country, my home, Swan Hill”.
Being on the road means Nioka is home-schooled with her curriculum designed by Sarah.
“It’s quite fun and not as much work as normal school and I have been able to really connect with my culture,” she said.
“I’ve done paintings of the places I’ve been and the stories I’ve heard along the way.
“I use an app called Procreate when working on my iPad and the best thing about that is there is no limit to my colour choices.
“I can literally create new colours never seen before.”
On her travels, Nioka saw rock art thousands of years old and learnt about the Bradshaw paintings.
Located in the Kimberley in Western Australia, the rock art depicts the changing times as different cultures immigrated.
Researchers interpret the change in rock art styles as a response to the social and cultural adaptations triggered by the changing climate and rising sea levels.
Paintings of human figures with new technologies such as spear-throwers show how people adapted their hunting style to the changing environment and the availability of different types of food.
Nioka said she enjoyed the stories from before European settlement and was inspired to paint the story of the boab tree from what she learnt on her travels.
She loves living with her family in the van and feels less connected to them while living in a house.
The family plan to do the east coast when they hit the road again, looking towards the top of Australia.
“We’d like to head back to the Kimberleys, visit the NT and make our way to the Cape in Queensland,” Sarah said.
“We are creating a website for Nioka to showcase her work and she would really like to do some commissioned pieces for people but for now I’ve suggested she just focus on creating.”
Nioka doesn’t research the places they visit ahead of time, preferring to not have pre-conceived ideas and forming her own views of each place.
She hopes to get her name out and would love to be able to make a living from her work.
Until that dream is fulfilled, she is happy to continue living the dream of van life with her family and plans to enjoy every step of the journey.
Follow Nioka on Instagram, Oka Art Co.
