Audrey Hennessey is a young 19-year-old inspiring Indigenous artist from the Wakka Wakka (Cherbourg QLD) and Yaegi (Yamba NSW) tribes and grew on a mission called Baryulgi located far mid north coast of NSW on Bundjalung land. She currently calls Sydney home as she is doing her Diploma in Government through the Indigenous Australian Government Development Program.
At the young age of 9 Audrey's mother was diagnosed with cancer and by the age of 11, she had to move to Woy Woy to live with her uncle as her mother was too ill to look after her. "Adapting to a new lifestyle and learning their way of living was really hard for me, art was used as a release and a way to express myself", Audrey says.
Audrey studied art in High School and completed her major on a piece she likes to call "Asbestos". This piece was close to her heart as her grandfather worked on a mine back in the late 80's which had asbestos. "As you get older and realise how deadly asbestos really is, it's not fun and games as we thought it was as kids".
Audrey has now moved towards painting football boots and small pieces. “I started painting football boots last year, I find it fun simply because I love sports and I know a lot of people enjoy sport therefore expressing my art on football boots is amazing in many ways – it’s a great way to showcase my talent.”
You can be the stand-out on the field with custom made painted football boots painted by Audrey at a small price of $100 for kid’s size and $150 for adults size boots. You must provide your boot to Audrey, however if you are from a remote community, Audrey can arrange the boot for you and you will be charged for the boot as well as the custom Aboriginal design.
Audrey gets her inspiration from nature and also her family members have played a huge role in inspiring her to paint from a young age. “I watched them paint beautiful artworks. My Aunty Gloria passed down a lot of her techniques to me, all I had to do is keep practicing until I perfected it. My Dad, brother and Pop are all amazing artist as well, we all have a gift when it comes to art.”
If you want to get your feet on a pair of flash unique Aboriginal painted football boots than contact Audrey via her email [email protected] or via the Audrey Hennessey Art facebook page.