Niah uses a visual symbolic language, both codified and vibrant, which forms one of the foundations of his stylistic approach. This language allows Niah to convey stories that are both personal and collective, and to echo, in each work, the memory of the land, spiritual heritage and lived experience.

Bherwherra refers to Swan Lake, the artist's birthplace, represented by intertwined circles of dots emphasising her attachment to the land.

In her series Bherwherra – Swan Lake, Niah Juella McLeod explores the deep, visceral and spiritual attachment she has to her native land, the Jervis Bay region. Through circular patterns, she evokes fundamental notions of Aboriginal culture: continuity, interconnectedness and the sacred. 

Swan Lake, inhabited by frogs, resonates with the echoes of their croaking, creating an atmosphere that is both mystical and ritualistic. Niah captures this essence by composing her canvas with small raised dots, applied using a pipette. These regular, hypnotic dots form a pattern that evokes the propagation of waves across the land, like delicate pearls embroidered on the surface.