The work of proud Warnman woman and Martumili artist, Helen Dale Samson, is featured on a range of limited-edition frames produced by Specsavers in collaboration with The Fred Hollows Foundation.
Launched at an event at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in June, the piece featured across this year’s collection is called ‘Puntawarri’.
Puntawarri is an important cultural area located in the middle stretches of the Canning Stock Route and east of the Jigalong Mission (now Jigalong Aboriginal community).
Ms Dale Samson was born at Jigalong Mission and grew up in the mission dormitory, schooling and working during the week, but spent her weekends and holidays camping in the Country surrounding Jigalong and Puntawarri with her extended family.
For every limited-edition frame sold, AU$25 is contributed to The Fred Hollows Foundation
Once married, she lived around Puntawarri and Nguyakurlu rockholes, walking and hunting there. In more recent years she returned to Jigalong Aboriginal community, where she continues to live today with her children and grandchildren.
Ms Dale Samson paints about the old mission days and the places she and her ancestors travelled. In ‘Puntawarri’, she depicts the diverse array of flora found in the area – the site of an important Jukurrpa (Dreaming) story.
Speaking of her work, Ms Dale Samson said, “All around is sandhills and lakes on every side. You can see the grass, but the lakes are all dry. In the middle is Puntawarri waterhole. That’s the jila (snake) place, two jila. They nyupa (spouses), they darlings, man, and woman. They sleeping near to Puntawarri. It’s a hole in the ground — that jila will come out of the ground and all the dust will go everywhere.”
Since 2014, Specsavers and The Fred Hollows Foundation have collaborated yearly on a limited edition collection of frames featuring the artwork of an Indigenous artist.
For every limited-edition frame sold, AU$25 is contributed to The Fred Hollows Foundation.
Jane Madden, Chair of The Fred Hollows Foundation, said the Foundation’s program with Specsavers aims to address “the huge gap that exists in Indigenous eye health” when compared to the rest of Australia.
She said Indigenous people are over three times more likely to have eye health and blindness issues than other Australians and yet 94% of those who are blind – over 18,000 Indigenous people – have preventable eye health issues. She said this “terrible situation” is “a national disgrace… Our general health system is failing to really meet the needs of Indigenous communities”.
Ms Madden said through partnerships, The Fred Hollows Foundation was proud to be doing as much as it can to close the gap.
