As a Māori person I often don’t see positive representations of being queer, trans, or non-binary whilst also being Indigenious. Growing up in a Māori household, brown queerness wasn’t an identity to be proud of but a joke on tv. My experience of learning about my gender as a young adult has only deepened my understanding of myself as an Indigenious person and my connection to my land and my ancestors.

In my artwork Infinite Galaxies, I wanted to create a positive representation of how it feels being non-binary and Māori. In my experience of my gender I often feel like I’m in flux between different energies, colours, and emotions.

In creating Infinite Galaxies, I drew visual inspiration from the anime Sailor Moon and the Sailor Guardians transformation sequences. The Sailor Guardians transformation sequences visually captures for me how I experience my gender and how it feels moving between different energies, colours, and emotions.

In my artwork I also wanted to create a visual connection between my different states of being and my connection to myself and to water.

About the artist

Rosie Moana Pickett (she/they/them/her) is a Māori creative who was born in Ahuriri (Napier), but raised on whadjuk noongar boodjar in Boorloo (Perth). Growing up in Boorloo (Perth) Rosie was negatively impacted by depictions of Māori people on Australian television as aggressive, hostile, and uncivilised. Rosie uses concept art, visual art, poetry, and performance as a way to represent different perspectives, narratives, and experiences on being Māori. Rosie’s poetry is published on Awa Wahines online Rangataki (Zine) and you can find her creative works on her instagram @drawingbymoonlight.