When returns to her birthplace of Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, she's home. "As soon as I can smell the salt water, I see the water, I see the sand, [and] it just hits me. I take my shoes off, walk around barefoot. I don't live here but this is home."
While she was born on Thursday Island, Mordey has been living in Brisbane since she moved to the city to develop her artistic practice at university. She is now an alumni of Griffith University's course.
"I believe it's one of its own kind in Australia," Mordey tells SBS Voices. With a focus on traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait art practices, it enables students to delve into issues face by contemporary First Nations communities and communicate them through art.
As soon as I can smell the salt water, I see the water, I see the sand, [and] it just hits me. I take my shoes off, walk around barefoot. I don't live here but this is home.
"Aside from doing my Indigenous studies, I branched out and took on other classes. I was doing film and TV class and landscape painting and life drawing and animation. I really spread myself out and was diving into all sorts of art."
The course helped Mordey develop as an artist. The opportunity to reflect on her own culture and family as well as the history of her community helped her to hone her own practice.
"It was important for us to learn this information while also figuring out ways to spread more information about ourselves and our identity and the community that we come from," she says.
For Mordey, that community is key to her art practice. She explains that even as a child, the thing that she most admired about illustrations was their ability to help tell a story. "And that's kind of how I stay connected to the culture through my art," she says.
And it's evident in the illustrations that she's created as part of SBS Voices' NAIDOC Week essay series. The series of six artworks each sit alongside the writing of other First Nations peoples from around Australia.
But creating a single image to represent another person's story is no easy task. "I do try to really dive into the stories and get deep into it," Mordey says. Taking time to read the stories and give them the appropriate amount of care and respect is an important part of her process.
Illustration of NAIDOC Week essay collection editor, Ellen van Neerven. Created by Tori-Jay Mordey. Source: Supplied
"I highlight the bits and pieces that resonated with me or where I could visually see something in my head for it. And then I gradually start to sketch something up and once I'm comfortable that feels right, I start to finalise the piece."
Reflecting on the 2021 NAIDOC Week theme; Heal country, heal our nation, Mordey says, "I do strongly believe in that connection to Country that we have within our communities. It's such a rush of warmth and familiarity. That's what I really love about Country.
"Doing these illustrations for this project, I'm connecting with people who are wanting to talk about the Country."
Illustration created by Tori-Jay Mordey as part of SBS Voices' NAIDOC Week essay collection. Source: Supplied
I do strongly believe in that connection to Country that we have within our communities. It's such a rush of warmth and familiarity. That's what I really love about Country.
That relationship to community is what she believes NAIDOC Week is all about. It allows her to remember not only her own heritage but the interconnectedness of First Nations communities across the continent as well.
"It's a nice reminder of where I come from, where our family's from and also a friendly reminder to connect with everyone again. To get together and to celebrate this beautiful heritage and this beautiful culture we have."
is an established Indigenous Australian illustrator and artist based in Brisbane. Growing up she openly shared both her Torres Strait Islander and English heritage, which is often reflected in her contemporary Indigenous art practice - producing work based around her family and siblings as a way of understanding herself, her appearance and racial identity. Read SBS Voices' NAIDOC Week series to view her artwork.
National NAIDOC Week (4 – 11 July 2021) celebrates the history, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Join SBS and NITV for a full slate of , and follow NITV on and to be part of the conversation. For more information about NAIDOC Week or this year’s theme, head to the .
More from SBS Voices' NAIDOC Week collection
Country is our healing and we all benefit from living on land that is well-cared for
