Meet the artist behind this year's winning NAIDOC poster

Jeremy Worrall reflects on his win, and what it means to be part of history.

Artist Jeremy Worral is the winner

When you've chased a dream for so long, it can be hard to believe when it finally happens.

So when Jeremy Morgan Worrall, a Ngarbal Gamilaraay artist, received a call from the NAIDOC Committee regarding his latest entry for the prestigious poster competition, his hopes weren't high.

"[It's] this massive goal that I've been trying to achieve as an Indigenous artist for the last six years," he told NITV.

"I thought they were going to tell me that I didn't get it again this year.

"When it was the opposite ... I felt pretty elated. I got the call at work ... and I was trying not to jump up and down."

The NAIDOC Committee first began producing posters in 1967, the same year the landmark referendum was held.

The annual competition, and the winning poster's reveal, is now a highly-anticipated element of every NAIDOC Week.

The 1977 NAIDOC poster, commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the '67 referendum.

Worrall, who also works as a graphic designer for NITV, had that history in mind when creating his winning artwork.

"All the [posters] from the 80s and the 90s, they were like a key inspiration in terms of the aesthetic," he said.

"It just made me really think about all the artists before that have won, and the amount of talent that comes out of NAIDOC."

His winning artwork is titled 'Ancestral Lines'. The designs are based on traditional Ngarbal linework, inspired by woodhatching and 'ghost painting'.

"That's where you paint a section down, then strip it back from the canvas.

"It features different animal tracks that signify hunting grounds and food sources. "

"A lot of it is inspired by the River Severn, which is where I'm from, the river that runs through Ngarbal Country."

It's also an homage to this year's NAIDOC theme, 'The Next Generation'.

"The piece is about the connection a person has with their ancestors and the relationship that occurs when you honour ... all the cultural teachings, all the life experience that gets passed down.

"[It's about] the strength that comes with that ... but also the responsibility."

It's a responsibility that Worrall feels keenly.

His family hails from Emmaville, just shy of Tenterfield, with ties to the Connors, Marlowes, Wrights and Frazers.

It was there that his love of art was nurtured by his Elders.

"I've been painting since I was a kid," he says.

Worrall with his sister and mother, an early inspiration for his artistry.

"Mum is an artist. She's an Indigenous psychologist at the moment and a really big inspiration to me in terms of her community work.

"My mum and uncles [were] teaching me how to paint in certain ways ... as I got older and started painting more, I learned a lot more from going back home and learning from the lawmen up there, and my uncles and my aunties."

Maintaining connection to that rich history of culture keeps the artist grounded.

"Having been an Indigenous artist in a commercial space ... can be daunting sometimes, when you're selling traditional art and putting a price on it.

"For me it's about making sure I'm always doing right by my family [and] my culture."