TIME TO REST - TIME TO RETURN HOME - Print - Limited Edition

Time to Rest - Time to Return Home - By Grace Brown

This artwork tells the gentle yet powerful story of Yinahla, a Yugambeh lullaby. This ancient revitalised songline is being gifted to every newborn child born across Logan, Gold Coast and Beaudesert hospitals.

It honours the strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, the sacred role of song, and the return of language and connection to future generations.

At the heart of the painting lies an Aboriginal baby, peacefully cradled in a coolamon, resting on a bed of possum skin. This traditional vessel is a representation of nurturing, care, and cultural protection.

Beneath the coolamon, a woven mat connects the baby to Country, reflecting the interlaced bonds between family, community, and Country. These woven strands symbolise the continuity of knowledge and the shared responsibility of raising strong, culturally grounded children.

Around the child is a garland of natural string threaded with quandong seeds, representing nourishment, protection, and the cultural strength passed down from Ancestors. The seeds carry the essence of story and survival, of food and medicine, of sacred knowledge and unconditional love. 

Encircling the painting’s outer edge are floral motifs, symbolising the bush foods and medicinal plants that have sustained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for generations. These designs represent the holistic nature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing, where health is not only physical, but deeply emotional, cultural, and spiritual. These nourishing plants whisper to the child of a birthright to health, strength, and belonging.

The lullaby, Yinahla, co-composed by Kombumerri Elder and Songwoman Dr Candace Kruger and Kombumerri musician and producer Lann Levinge, emerges as the heartbeat of this story. It is more than a song, it is a reclamation of voice, an act of cultural continuity, and a gift of language, spirit, and story, which carries the wisdom and love of generations.

This artwork also holds space for remembrance, for the children of the Stolen Generations, who were taken from their families and denied the comfort of their mothers' songs. Through this artwork and lullaby, we say: It is time to return. Time to hear the songs. Time to reconnect. Yinahla is a lullaby for healing. A song for those who never heard it, and for those who now will.

By sharing this lullaby in the earliest moments of life, Yinahla plants seeds of culture, connection, truth-telling, and reconciliation. It reminds every child that they are born into a rich legacy of care, connection, and Country. The, Time to rest; Time to return home artwork and the lullaby it accompanies are gifts of love, language, and legacy

Limited Edition Fine Art Print on Canvas or 310gsm Art Paper

Edition of 30

Certificate of Authenticity hand signed and numbered by the artist.

Artwork Canvas Print will be professionally packed and delivered in a Rolled tube.