Gurrwa woman Chloe Wegener has been selected by Formula 1 to develop an artwork for the Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the F1 season.
An artist and visual scribe, Wegener also works full time at the First Nations Gender Justice Institute at the Australian National University.
"To create the artwork, I really think about the place, the Country, the people and everything involved because Country isn't just the land, it's everything – it's the animals, it's the sky, it's the spirits, it's everything involved," Wegener, who lives on Wadawurrung Country (Geelong), said.
"This isn't my Country, Bunurong Country, so I really wanted to acknowledge Bunurong Country but without telling their stories."
The Australian F1 race is held at Albert Park, about three kilometres south of Melbourne's CBD.
Last year, a record-breaking 452,000 people attended the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix over the four-day race weekend. This year, it will be held March 13 to 16.
"It's a really significant meeting place and has been for thousands of years, and now the Grand Prix brings hundreds of thousands of people here and it's continuing that journey today," Wegener said.
Wegener explained the artwork contains different elements that relate to Country including the main meeting lines, which are actually parts of the track showing the convergence of people and motorsport.
"The Grand Prix is a really big meeting place but we also have smaller meeting places because Aboriginal culture is so much about yarning," she said.
"It's an oral culture, it's about meeting, it's about yarning, it's about talking and that's how we pass on culture so it's really significant.
"The shapes like a little U are part of the artwork and represent people because when you sit on the ground, that's the mark that's left in the dirt or the sand."
Wegener said in the artwork's background includes elements synonymous with Albert Park.
"... There are a lot of gum nuts and there are a lot of gum trees which are quite old and big, there are footprints of people coming together and those who have always walked this land, there's the swans from the lake, and more meeting places because I really wanted to emphasise the people part of the motorsport – yes it's about the cars but it's about people too," she said.
As an artist, Wegener said it was exciting to work on a project of this scale.
"The Grand Prix is such a big platform to celebrate all different cultures and we want to make it a place where everyone feels welcome and through different representation, people come to the Grand Prix and feel like that's a place that they can be," she said.
The pink and purple colours of the Australian Grand Prix are prominent in Wegener's artwork to seamlessly integrate it with the rest of the event branding and to support the storytelling of Narrm (Melbourne).
The artwork will feature on various signage across Albert Park, including the famous Melbourne Walk as well as on signage throughout the event site.