Juanita McLauchlan on what binds us across time and space

McLauchlan is a printmaker by trade and currently lives and works on Wiradyuri country in Wagga Wagga, NSW. Her work is guided by her Indigenous heritage and is characterised by her experimental use of printmaking techniques, where she prints with natural materials on surfaces that ‘move, shift and change’, like woollen blankets. 

Until 19 October, McLauchlan is exhibiting yilaa minyaminyabal maaru-ma-lda-y (soon everything will be healing), in the Naala Badu building of AGNSW. This exhibition explores family and community through the everyday pillars we have in common, like the constellations above us and the blankets we use to keep warm at night. I visited this exhibition with the artist herself and was privileged enough to hear her speak about her work with vulnerability and warmth.  

When you enter the space, you are met with a sprawling, possum-skin cloak, laid out flat at knee height in the centre of the room. It is accompanied by 10 woollen blankets, hung symmetrically on two opposite walls. The back wall features one, larger blanket, made up of smaller segments of blankets that are stitched together. The layout of the room is intentional, prompting you to consider the placement of the possum skin in the centre of the room. 

“To walk around the possum skin cloak gives the idea that we’ve always been tiptoeing around culture but also the idea that it is actually the centre-point of our foundations of being Australian…to acknowledge the idea that there’s an older footstep before colonisation happened,” McLauchlan said.  

The woollen blankets are hung on the surrounding walls, using experimental printing techniques and stitching to reference the history of the object while transforming it into something different. They are bush dyed using eucalyptus leaves, animal pelts and other organic materials.  

McLauchlan describes the sensory experience of creating the works, pointing out how the smell of wet woollen blankets mixes with the scent of boiled gum leaves. When dying them, she says, “…you’ve got the steam happening, you’ve got the smells happening but also you’ve got that bit of alchemy, where you know it’s going to work, but how is it going to work, how’s it going to change the ways the oils and the dyes stick together onto the woollen blanket.”   

This chance element introduces a sense of playfulness, sometimes resulting in elegant patterns, and other times bleeding in a more chaotic way, depending on the time of year.  

Central to McLauchlan’s practice is acknowledging both sides of her family, having both Gamilaraay and European heritage.  

“I want people to experience what I feel when I see a blanket but also when I see the beautiful richness of a possum skin cloak and how that sort of embraces you as a person and being,” she said.  

She explores what this means for her traditions, how they evolve and what she wants to pass down. This is especially true when talking about work that we do with our hands, like stitching and embroidery.  

“As long as you continue to do something you’re bringing the knowledge from the past with you and hopefully passing that on to our kids, our students and newcomers to the country. So, this idea of having this cross over of knowledge I think is quite beautiful because traditions evolve…it’s still the same, but it’s slightly different. The idea of taking on and changing the way work still gives us an identity as a First Nations or modern day Australian. No matter what you do you still carry that tradition on.” 

McLauchlan wants her work to promote unity and the healing of historical burdens.  Of the pieces she said, “…to wear them as a cloak, to shroud yourself in this depth of history, some bad, some good, but culture is not a weapon. You use culture to learn and educate.”    

“No matter where we are in the world we nurture our babies, our families, our sick, our elderly, so you put a blanket over you if you’re cold or unwell, it’s like having a cup of tea…everything is fine. You sit down and put a blanket on and have a cup of tea and you sort it all out.” 

This sense of warmth is carried by McLauchlan not only in her work, but in her way of being. She is incredibly open, vulnerable and generous, not only in the way she has shared her culture, family and memory in her artwork, but in how she has invited me into her space and process.  

In May, I visited her in Wagga Wagga as she was preparing for this exhibition. At the time, she was sewing possum tails onto one of her hung blankets and spoke of her recent residency in McCahon House, New Zealand, where the possums come from. She spoke of the possums with reverence and showed me how she stitches back into the work to tell stories and leave a mark.  

The other blankets, ready for exhibition, were being stored in a chest freezer to prepare them for the AGNSW space. At the time she told me that, “the idea of my work being exhibited in the NSW gallery has been absolutely amazing. Regional artists do have a voice and to have that voice be heard and seen has been a wonderful experience.”  

McLauchlan is obviously extremely talented, but without regionally targeted opportunities, she may not be where she is today.  

She has frequently connected with RANSW and the opportunities we offer as her career has evolved. One of these was the Windmill Trust Scholarship, which she won in 2022 and allowed her to hold an exhibition at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. She has also participated in the Artists in Volatile Landscapes program, put on by the Regional Arts Network.  

The impact of these programs is that artists gain access to opportunities that may have felt beyond their reach previously. Since then, she has gone on to become a finalist in major prizes such as the Wynne Prize (2024 & 2025), and won others, such as the MA Art Prize by Sydney Contemporary (2025). Juanita McLauchlan is a wonderful example of how regional artists have a unique perspective and deserve representation in Australia’s major institutions.  

If you’re in Sydney, I urge you to visit her exhibition at AGNSW. Her delicate treatment of tradition, culture and unity tells a beautiful story of a kind of Australia we should be working toward. Her work is extremely gracious, welcoming us into her perspective, without ignoring the dark parts of our history. In Juanita’s own words, “It’s this beautiful binding and bringing people together. I hope people feel like they get a hug when they walk in here.” 

Written by Beatrice Waller, Operations and Engagement Officer at RANSW

yilaa minyaminyabal maaru-ma-lda-y (soon everything will be healing) 

5 July – 19 October 2025  

Art Gallery of New South Wales  

Naala Badu building, Lower level 2 

Learn more: artgallery.nsw.gov.au