Tesserae Kinned

A natural pearl begins to form whenever a foreign object - no matter how small - comes to rest in a mollusc's mother-of-pearl. The host begins coating the foreigner with layers of the substance which previously made the mother-of-pearl itself... 

Bravely resting as a foreigner in the 'mother-of-pearl' of other cultures, Maria Rosa experienced the changing of inner and outer landscapes. Life among First Nations Australians in remote and very remote locations prompted her to contemplate some of the meaning-filled outlooks of the millions of people of Indigenous descent scattered across the world. 

Assuming untapped resourceful depths, Maria pondered, as Rumi might: 'How can you reach the pearl by only looking at the sea? If you seek the pearl, be a diver.'

While endeavouring to meet First Peoples interculturally and contextually, Maria realised music creatively reaches across culturally created chasms. She began writing songs to assist a group of young Australian Indigenous students to learn English. Over time, the poetry of Rod Cameron OSA and James Cornell became strong sources of bridge-building lyrics. 

In Tesserae Kinned, Maria introduces her transformative intercultural journey which ultimately revealed to her the truth of Rod's words about Australia: 'This is a land where every horizon sings!'