Brittany Ferns for Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month
In celebration of Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month, we sit down with Brittany Ferns and discuss how her Uruguayan roots influence her practice. Read on for her musings below.
At first, I wasn’t really sure the best way to describe how heritage has influenced my work — for a long time, it felt like the absence of identity and culture was more present than anything else. But the more I reflect, the more I realise how softly my Uruguayan roots have shaped my practice, helping me hold onto a connection that I’ve sometimes felt slip away.
I was born and raised in Australia — my dad is Aussie, and my mum is Uruguayan. Growing up, my heritage was always present in subtle ways: in the Spanish spoken around me and in the big, loud family barbecues. But at the same time, it also felt like something that was missing — like I was reaching for a culture that wasn’t fully there.
My nana once told me, “Your Nono was always one with a suitcase in his hands.” My grandparents never had just one home. They built a life here in Australia, but their hearts were still tied to Uruguay — always stretched across two landscapes. I feel a bit like that too. Caught between places, unsure where I’d feel most at home. Is it here in Australia, where I’ve built my life? Or would being closer to the Spanish language and culture bring a deeper sense of belonging?
That feeling of belonging and identity has definitely shown up in my work before. Most directly, in my series The Space Between You and Me, which was about the fear of losing the connection of my Uruguayan heritage over time.
In my work, I think the colours and textures carry subtle nods to South America. I’m drawn to warm, earthy tones and layered surfaces — marks that feel older and a little more worn. Recently, the sun has become a symbol in my paintings. At first, it came from a personal place — something steady and guiding as I tried to reconnect with myself. But it is also a symbol that ties me to Uruguay. The Sol de Mayo — with its watchful, human face — became a thread to my heritage.. I didn’t plan for that symbol to appear in my work; it emerged naturally, like my heritage continuing to find its way in.
That is what I love about painting: the ability to hold many meanings at once, some visible and some hidden.
Going forward, I hope to keep looking through photo albums with my nana, to learn more about her life, and to travel with my kids, letting them experience the places that shaped our family.
