ELLE Campbell began doing Indigenous art after dreaming she was painting with her nan.
While her nan is no longer with us, nobody would be prouder to see Port Adelaide run out in one of Ms Campbell’s designs as part of the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round on Sunday.
The striking design, which will be on Port Adelaide’s guernsey when the side takes on Fremantle, is titled “Kangaroos on the Coast”, and Ms Campbell explained the story behind it.
“Mum sent me a video and some photos of some Kangaroos coming out of the scrubland down at the burial ground at Kingston in the South East,” she told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“The colours at the bottom represent the burial ground. The brown colours, the yellows colours all represent the sand, the soils, and the trees my family have planted there.
“The red and the black represent my ancestors who are buried there.
“The greens and the blues at the top represent Kingston beach. There’s a lot of seaweed there, hence the greens. The Kangaroos are coming down from the burial ground to have a dip in the water on a warm day, leaving their footprints along their path.”
Seeing her design on the guernsey still has not sunken in for Elle Campbell, nor the enormity of its involvement as part of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round, which celebrates Indigenous culture and the special contribution Indigenous players have made to Australian Rules football.
“It’s a bit surreal really. I’ve always wanted my designs on a guernsey so here it is,” she laughed.
“I’ve always loved the Sir Doug Nicholls Round. I’ve always loved going online and seeing all the guernseys that come out.
“Looking at all the Indigenous designs, I think it’s just an awesome aspect of the game to be able to celebrate Indigenous culture.”
Painting remains a hobby for Ms Campbell, who admits art runs in the family.
She said family was the inspiration behind her picking up a paint brush in the first place.
“The first time I ever did a painting, I had a dream that I was painting with my nan,” she explained.
“I had never done dot painting before but after that dream I went to the shops and got an art book, got some paint, got some paint brushes and then put it onto paper.
“I’ve been painting since then.
“My nan is not with us anymore so she’ll be cheering up there and most of my family are Port supporters so they’ll be loving seeing this.”
An advocate for Indigenous opportunity, Ms Campbell has asked that the proceeds of any retail sales of the guernsey go back into the Aboriginal programs run by Port Adelaide’s not-for-profit community arm Power Community Limited.
“I know all the great work that Port does with Indigenous youth so for (the proceeds of any sales) to go back into those programs would mean a lot to me.”
The guernseys will be available pre-order online later this week or will be available to purchase at the Port Store at Alberton from Thursday 27 May along with a limited-edition range including hoodies, t-shirts and scarves featuring the design
