The Black Rising was created for the front cover of the magazine formerly known as Black Nations Rising, marking the publication's transition to its new name. The brief was simple but powerful: visually communicate the idea of Black people rising.

I wanted the illustration to represent strength, resilience and the enduring presence of Aboriginal people. Six central figures—three women and three men—stand in a V formation, each adopting a strong, almost superhero-like posture. Their physical presence and direct, eerie eyes give them a powerful, otherworldly quality, suggesting that they carry something much older and greater than themselves.

Behind them, thousands of figures stretch into the distance, creating an almost endless presence of ancestors standing behind the generation that is rising. The rising sun becomes both a literal and symbolic element, representing emergence, strength and a new day.

The colour palette draws from the Aboriginal flag, using red to represent the earth, yellow for the sun and black as a strong grounding element, with brown used for the figures. Together, these elements create an image that is bold, symbolic and deeply connected to Country, ancestry and Aboriginal identity.