Robbie Knight spent more than three years in prisons across Victoria and produced art while he was serving his sentence.
He described one piece, several months in the making, as illustrating his journey to finding his soulmate.
"It is the rivers of life and love,” he said. “Each dot represents a person, all the people we come across in our life. The tracks are symbols of the journey. Through all these people, we are on a quest to find love."
His paintings fetch upwards of $5000, but it wasn't until his release that he was able to sell them.
"In the past, Aboriginal prisoners could pass on their artwork to family and essentially have family sell those works but of course there can be complications about the money," said Victorian Police Minister Wade Noonan.
Now, The Torch - a group supporting Indigenous artists in prison - will be able to sell the artwork on their behalf.
The Torch had already been exhibiting the works of Indigenous artists currently in or recently released from Victorian prisons. But this month in its sixth exhibition - titled Confined 6 - The Torch will be able to sell the paintings on display and give the money back to the artists.
Robbie Knight. Source: SBS
"It'll give them a sense of confidence and achievement, and also some funds that upon release will really support their reintegration back into the community," said The Torch CEO Kent Morris.
Indigenous adults are 13 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous Australians and once released, 55 per cent of Aboriginal parolees will return to prison compared to 38 per cent of the non-Aboriginal population.
The new Aboriginal art policy has been four decades in the making in Victoria, and may be considered on a national scale
"If we get the model right here in Victoria over the next 12 months, I then intend to roll it out to a second state and then a third and if we get it right, and I think we will, this program will be available to all incarcerated men and women across Australia," said Jeff Kennett, former Victorian Premier and Chairman of The Torch.
Indigenous artists still in prison will be able to retain a small part of the proceeds from the sale of their work, the rest will be placed in a trust account that can be accessed on their release.
Jeff Kennett. Source: SBS
"Even $5000-$1000 can be really critical in providing a shift away from a life of crime," Mr Noonan said.
Also generating proceeds for the victim, with the interest from the funds held in trust to be donated to victims of crime.
The new laws don't incorporate non-Indigenous artists, but it's hoped the benefits will be widespread.
