WAARI is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice moves between land, language, and body. He is a proud descendant of the Waanyi and Kalkutungu peoples of so-called Australia, and of the Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Manu, and Te Ātiawa iwi of Taranaki, Aotearoa (so-called New Zealand). His work braids these ancestral bloodlines and speaks to the lived experience of being Blak within places shaped by ongoing colonial presence. Drawing from both Indigenous worlds, he creates spaces of identity, resistance, and cultural continuance through print, sound and story-making. Printmaking is central to WAARI’s practice. Through carving wood and lino, he works with the rhythm of ink and paper, honouring teachings passed down through generations. It is a space for him to acknowledge memory and build (re)connection. WAARI has developed works across many lands, including Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country (Naarm/Melbourne), Gimuy Walubara Yidinji Country (Cairns), Kalkutungu Country (Cloncurry and Mount Isa), and Arrernte Country (Alice Springs).
MUSIC
01. WILT / single
Release date: 18 September, 2024
02. MUKI / debut ep
Release date: 1 November, 2024
*listen to MUKI here
MUKI follows the cycles of life - birth, coming of age, death and rebirth - as they connect to cycles of family across generations and land across seasons.In 2024, WAARI released MUKI, drawing on memory, lived experience, and futurity. The EP has been praised for its raw emotion, cultural depth, and distinctive sound, marking WAARI as an important new voice in contemporary Blak music.
03. The Light / single
Release date: 26 June, 2026
Written for the many young Blak lives who continue to move through these lands carrying burdens no child should have to bear. More than a song of mourning, ‘The Light’ is a song of remembrance, of love held fiercely, and of the light that remains even in the darkest moments.
Every child carries a sacred spark, a flame passed from ancestor to ancestor, held in story, kinship, and Country. Though the winds of injustice continue to rage, that flame will always be alive, dancing and growing. And it calls on all of us to shelter it, tend it, and help it burn brighter for generations to come.
04. Our Blood / single
Release date: 31 July, 2026
‘Our Blood’ shares a simple message rooted in the lived experiences of First Nations peoples, as well as speaking to the universal struggle to protect identity, belonging, and culture in the face of oppression.
Through references to land, children, culture, and blood, I am acknowledging what has been taken while affirming what can never be erased. They can keep continuing to silence Indigenous voices and disconnect us from our identity, but our connection to Country, culture, our ancestors, and each other is unbreakable.
Our blood remains in the land, and the land remains within us.
05. Kiangu Ngalhika / debut album
Release date: 19 September, 2026
*listen to Kiangu Ngalhika here
Kiangu Ngalhika is an album that unfolds from first light to last, with each song marking a different moment in an emotional and spiritual journey, using the movement of the sun as a guide through the shifting realities of Blak Indigenous life. As light changes, so too do our stories.
Moments of joy sit beside loss, resilience beside uncertainty, and healing beside anger.
This album speaks to a generation coming of age in changing times. As Elders leave us and colonial systems continue to reshape our lives, younger generations are called to reclaim language, culture, and ways of knowing that were never meant to disappear. It is a journey of carrying what has been passed down while finding new ways to keep it alive.
July 10, 2026 | Opening act for Hiatus Kaiyote, The Tivoli (Meanjine, Brisbane)
July 12, 2026 | Opening act for Hiatus Kaiyote, The Sydney Opera House (Gadigal, Sydney)
July 18, 2026 | Opening act for Hiatus Kaiyote, The Forum (Naarm, Melbourne)
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My printmaking and carving practice is rooted in memory, resistance, and deep cultural connection, honouring the stories that live on through Country, body, and language. Etching wood and lino allows me to move slowly and intentionally, guided by the rhythm of ink, paper, and the teachings passed down to me.
*view portfolio here