About the artist
Judi Sutton is a contemporary First Nations artist from the Kalkadoon people of North-West Queensland.
“I have always been a very creative person and expressed myself through my art. Born in my home country of Mount Isa. I instill my interpretation of country and culture into my artworks, inspired by the beautiful shapes, hues, flora and fauna of my land.” – Judi Sutton
Judi reflects upon her personal journey to create her artworks, each one unique and visually enchanting. She has mentored all of her children in skills, techniques and artistry from a young age to pursue their artistic careers and they are now world-renowned artists, creating paintings for governments, organisations and royalty from around the world.
The artwork in this Reflect RAP was designed in collaboration with Judi’s daughter, Chern’ee Sutton, and reflects their interpretation of MMS Group and its reconciliation journey.
About the artwork
‘The Story of Joint Heath Command was commissioned by RADM Sharkey, Surgeon General of the Australian Defence Force, and created by contemporary Indigenous artist Judi Sutton, from the Kalkadoon people from the Mount Isa area of Queensland.
The artwork represents Joint Health Command’s commitment to our First Nations people and is a tribute to all who have, and continue to serve in Joint Health Command.
The large purple community symbol in the centre of the artwork represents Joint Health Command with the coloured hands and people in the middle of the community symbol representing their goal of ‘Healing our Patients’.
The large rings around Joint Health Command’s community symbol in yellow, green, blue and purple represent Joint Health Command’s mission To create a joint health effect to enable ADF capability and care for our people’. These rings connect the five large community symbols, which represents each of the services, to each other and to Joint Health Command. These community symbols with white symbols inside represent the Navy, Army, Air Force, APS and contractors. The groups of people around the outside of the large yellow ring represent Joint Health Command’s Vision ‘trusted to Care’.
The footprints which lead into the centre community symbol represent the health workforce’s journey to become a part of Joint Health Command, and the medicine leaves around the centre represent Joint Health Command’s ability to enable ADF capability.
The kangaroo and emu footprints represent how Joint Health Command are always moving forward and never backward, just like the kangaroo and emu. Lastly the leaves and blossoms, wind, waterholes, cracked earth and mountains around the outside of the artwork represent the many diverse environments and regions where Joint Health Command provide their services, from the coastlines, to the dessert, from the rainforest to the skies.