The salty one

When Lowell Hunter, aka The Salty One, creates his unique artwork, he is doing much more than shuffling his feet through beach sand to draw pretty patterns. He is fulfilling a cultural responsibility, connecting to the land, and celebrating his saltwater heritage through dance, art, and storytelling.  
 
If you observed the artist at work, you might assume he was engaged in some sort of traditional Indigenous ceremony, which in a sense he is. Lowell creates striking sand art with only his feet, that tell stories of his connection to the land; ephemeral geometric shapes, patterns, lines and symbols that celebrate his Indigenous culture. He then captures these images with drone photography from above, showcasing his art in the natural setting that inspired it, before nature wipes the canvas clean again.  
 
“I’m tapping into the oldest continuous living culture in the world and then using cutting edge technology to present it to the world,” he says. His artwork has been featured at New York fashion week, NAIDOC week, on AFL jumpers for Indigenous round and has earned him numerous awards.  
 
“It’s not really about me.  I’m doing this because it’s a cultural responsibility of staying strong in culture. Elders before me have done this for generations. I have three sons, and it’s about passing this legacy on to them,” he says. 
 
Lowell is a proud Nyul Nyul saltwater man from the Kimberley region of northern WA, but grew up in Gunditjmara country in Warrnambool, and now lives on Wathaurong Country, Torquay, Victoria. The common factor of these vastly different environments is his powerful connection to the ocean and coastline where he makes his art.

“Being a saltwater person, I’m strongly connected to the ocean. I find myself now 3000km away from my country, but I do feel really strongly connected to it by the ocean. It connects me back to my roots,” he says. “To add this layer of storytelling on to these land and sea scapes, that adds something special to it.” 
 
Lowell has been deeply connected to his culture from a young age and his art began as a kind of homage to the coastal environments he is so connected to, as well as his ancestors. “Grounding myself before I go out to create artwork is really important because I’ve really got to slow my mind and body down,” he says. The process of creating the artwork is like a dance, drawing from traditional Indigenous dance practices. “When I clap my boomerangs and sing out, the birds and animals talk back to me. I can feel my ancestors and my elders and old people looking down on me and I can feel their energy watching over me.” 
 
 A new collaboration between Lowell and Dometic is allowing the artist to spend more time on country, travel further and attempt more ambitious art pieces. The development of the Voyager Power System featuring Lowell’s artwork Inner Peace seems fitting, given it’s the ocean environment that gives him a sense of peace and connection while also fuelling Lowell’s striking artwork. The mobile power source allows Lowell to charge his drone, plan longer trips and bring his three sons, while having everything they need for extended camping.  

“Now I can really plan out some epic trips. The ability to have what they would say is power on tap is a game changer,” says Lowell. “What I’d like to do is plan a whole week out on country and really immerse myself in it and spend time with family and get them out on country too.” 
 
Lowell has learned over time that his artwork is heavily dependent on a range of factors largely outside of his control, and so longer stints on country allow him the best chance of realising his creative visions. “When I’m out there it can be anywhere between two hours for a small piece and six hours for a larger one. I did a piece in three hours, but I had to wait for the tide to come in to get that perfect shot of the water lapping at the edge of the artwork. Just having an open mind and body and spirit to the work is key,” he says. 
 
“The artwork tends to vary with how I’m feeling. I go with the flow, my creative flow, and try not get stuck in running a business. I can feel really inspired and get out there in the thick of it and be quite ambitious. Or I can be in a lull and that’s okay. It doesn’t need to always be on. There’s a pull and push, like with the moon. I’m guided by what’s happening out on country. If it’s raining or it’s too windy, or the tides aren’t right, I’ve got to work with country. I can have these pre-conceived ideas, or I can have this feeling ... but you can trust the process and country and it will come.”