Sageraw Paykaw (South East Butterfly) commemorative birth certificate
You can buy our Sageraw Paykaw (South East Butterfly) commemorative birth certificate for yourself or your child by either submitting an application online, by post or in person.
To be eligible, the person you are applying for must have been born or adopted in Queensland.
Commemorative birth certificates are not official documents and cannot be used to prove your identity. If you need a certificate for identification, please apply for our official birth certificate or commemorative birth certificate package, which includes an official birth certificate.
About the artist
Matilda Nona was selected from among 12 submissions by Torres Strait Islander artists to create a piece of art that represents Torres Strait Islander culture and the journey of life, with the focus on birth.
Matilda’s work is housed in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, Newcastle Art Gallery, National Australian War Memorial and the Stokes Collection. She is regarded as one of the most exciting, diverse and innovative artists in the Torres Strait.
She works in lino relief, screen printing, copper plate etching and carving, and her work symbolises the environment she grew up in. An ambitious artist with a wealth of ideas, she is the first female Torres Strait artist to carve superb, feminine 2 metre lino blocks.
Matilda’s art depicts the cultural life, stories and traditions of Badu and are often vested in maternal ceremonies and ritual.
Through intimate, ambitious printmaking and since 2021, images created with natural materials such as sand, ochres and tints made with the island’s vegetation and fingerprint patterning, Matilda explores and engages with Badu’s recent history and traditions from new and innovative perspectives.
Many of her works are based on women’s business. They allude to the rites of passage from girl to woman and often evoke interactions between the generations alongside the earth and sea—the source of all sustenance.
Backgrounded by patterns that suggest the power of the currents and the graphic language of low tide, like all Sea Country people Matilda’s works also demonstrate her deep concern with the impact of fishing nets that have been cut adrift by trawler fisherman in the Torres Strait and Cape York, trapping marine creatures and birds.
Matilda’s beautiful artwork is displayed in the foyer at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Exhibitions of the artist's work
- 2024 CATAPULT—CIAF Independent Artist Showcase Program
- 2023 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair
- 2015 Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Carriagework—KickArts Exhibition
- 2015 Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair
- 2015 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair
- 2015 Gab Titui Indigenous Art Award Exhibition
- 2015 Artists of Badu Island, Mossenson Galleries
- 2014 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair
Recent awards
- Best 2D—Gab Titui Indigenous Art Awards 2023
- People’s Choice Award—King and Wood Mallesons First Nations Art Award 2023
Artist’s description of the work
The image I have portrayed is of butterflies, those little blue and yellow butterflies that appear when our seasons change from Kuki to Sagerr. They represent new beginnings, like the birth of a child.
In the image, two women celebrate the change of season. The Island women would do eggy (funny dance) when seeing these butterflies. This is the same dance Aunts do when a child is born.
It’s a celebration of new life, new beginnings, and the journey they are on, just like the butterflies.
- Acknowledgments
The department acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land, and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.
- Last updated:
- 2 August 2024