Ngugi artist Elisa Jane Carmichael has been named a finalist in the 2025 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), recognised for her multi-material work 'Threads that bind us'.

Now in its 42nd year, NATSIAA is Australia's longest-running Indigenous art award.

Ms Carmichael created her piece while balancing her full-time role as a mother of two young sons.

"I'm an artist, but I've also got two young sons, so I'm also a full-time mum," she said.

"One of my sons is three and a half and one is just about to turn one.

"I actually made my work that's in the NATSIAA with my new baby son in my hands and between his nap time."

Her artwork blends weaving and cyanotype printing, using natural materials collected on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).

Shells, freshwater reeds, cotton tree fibres, and mullet fish scales are dyed, strung, and woven into adornments which represent continuity and connection to Country.

"The work 'Threads that bind us' brings together a couple of different mediums that I work in," she said.

"I've always been inspired and drawn to making adornment pieces because I really see them as a way of body carrying Country."

The work carries deep intergenerational meaning, shaped by her life on Quandamooka Country and her hopes for her children.

Ms Carmichael said the act of collecting materials with her children informed the emotional core of the piece.

"When the tide's coming in and we're walking on the beach, we collect a lot of shells together," she said.

"It's just that beautiful moment when the tide's coming in and going out and we're racing to collect these shells.

"You can see the clouds on the sand. It's all connected."

An old friend who viewed her work in Darwin later reached out and told her that seeing it made him feel like he was back on Minjerribah.

"That was a beautiful message - to know that someone was able to feel Minjerribah from the Top End," she said.

Being named a finalist for the fourth time is something Ms Carmichael does not take lightly.

"I love being a part of the exhibition and coming up to Darwin," she said.

"I love seeing the diversity of the way us First Nations artists from all around Australia work in different ways to share our really important stories.

"I love that I can be a small part of the big story and represent our Quandamooka Country on the map."

Presented by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) on Larrakia Country, the 2025 exhibition features 71 finalists selected from 216 entries nationwide.

The award continues to highlight the diversity and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, bringing together leading and emerging artists from across Australia.

'Threads that bind us' will be on display at MAGNT from 21 June 2025 to 26 January 2026.

Winners will be announced on 8 August.