Something that is really important to us here at Spencil, is celebrating and encouraging creativity and artistic expression in kids. Seeing the world through their lens is a gift and one that we encourage at any opportunity: through our annual Spencil Art Prize, our arty product ranges, inspired stationery and more recently, our artist collaborations.
Now into our second year of artist collaborations, we couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce our newest Spencil Collab: Kalkatungu Muu by Jesse Sutton!
Kalkatungu Muu is the original painting of Jesse, who is 15 years old, and a contemporary Indigenous artist from the Kalkadoon people from Mount Isa in Queensland.
The Kalkatungu Muu range has been produced in collaboration with Spencil for kids to use, love and cherish.
“Kalkatungu Muu” means “Kalkadoon Country” in the Kalkadoon language and Jesse’s painting is his interpretation of the lands of his people. This stunning collection features earthy tones, native animals and symbolism of the land and people of the Mount Isa region.
We recently spent some time with Jesse to talk about the collaboration, the inspiration behind Kalkatungu Muu and what it means to him to have his gorgeous artwork on Spencil products.
Celebrating Australia’s rich and ancient history and a bright future ahead
Through his artwork, Jesse hopes to inspire the younger generation to be proud of Australia’s rich and ancient history, and to learn more about the Kalkadoon people – their art, stories, language and culture.
“I want the Spencil kids to be proud of Australia’s ancient history and culture.”
Jesse said of his painting “This artwork means a lot to me because it represents my people and my country. It is very important for me to share the Kalkadoon story with the younger generation so they understand my people’s stories and culture.”
Jesse hopes that his artwork on Spencil products encourages the younger generation to take an interest in Aboriginal art and culture “Anyone can appreciate Aboriginal art and you don’t have to be Aboriginal to do so. The benefits for the Kalkadoon people are that they get recognition and the younger generation are learning a bit about the Kalkadoon language. The benefits for the wider Australian community are that we get to share our cultures together and we get to work towards a brighter future.”
We think (and we’re sure you’ll agree!) that Jesse is doing amazing things at such a young age. As for Jesse’s budding career, the sky is the limit.
“My goals as an artist are to spread my culture with everyone around the world…and hopefully I get to go around the world with it!
I want people to think of my people’s ancient history and stories and think about how they are helping us work together for a brighter future.”
It was an absolute joy collaborating with Jesse and we are so proud to have worked with him. Jesse is not the only artist in the Sutton family we have been lucky enough to have worked with! His older sister, Brooke, collaborated with us on our first ever Spencil Collab, to produce the hugely popular and absolutely gorgeous… Yarrawala!
Jesse said of the chance to work with Spencil, just as his big sister Brooke had, “It was amazing because I was hoping that one day, I might be able to get my artwork on some Spencil products as well…and I did!
Today I got my artwork on lots of Spencil products and I’m very happy with how they turned out.
It was magical, because I expected something…and they were better than I thought they could be.”
The full Kalkatungu Muu range has just dropped online and we couldn’t be happier! We hope you love it as much as we do. We have a sneaking suspicion this one will be very popular!
About Kalkatungu Muu – in Jesse’s Words
The symbolism and kaleidoscope of colour in Kalkatungu Muu
Check out the full Kalkatungu Muu range here.
