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contemporary |
After 200 Years | ||||||||||||||
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Aboriginal people have been photographed since the invention of the camera. These early images were viewed as records of 'a curious people', photographs of a supposedly dying race, who were also 'captured' or 'shot' by the camera for 'scientific' purposes. Much of the work in Re-take responds to this ethnographic tradition by questioning the nature of photographic representation. In 'taking on' the photographic medium, the works in Re-take not only counteract denigrating and stereotypical representations of Aborigines, but highlight the vastly different voices (and concerns) encompassed by this label. |
Excluding the work of Mervyn Bishop, who was first employed as a press photographer for the Sydney Morning Herald in 1962, all of the artists in Re-take commenced their careers during the 1980s and early 1990s. While there are several reasons for the 'explosion' of Aboriginal photographers onto the Australian art scene in the 1980s, the huge political and social in-roads made by Aboriginal people in the previous two decades are of inestimable importance. Significant too, was an increasing access to public education (in urban areas particularly), ensuring that the political awareness and strong cultural identities of young indigenous artists were frequently coupled with an art school education.
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Re-take traces the shift in practice that has occurred in this brief history. Much of the work leading up to Australia's Bicentenary in 1988 was documentary in nature, registering, among other things, activities of resistance during white Australia's celebration of its 200th birthday. Post-1988 however, heralded a 'second wave' of work in which the impetus has shifted. This version, embodied in the work of artists such as Brook Andrew, Destiny Deacon and Rea, explores Aboriginal experience and identity in a far more personal, yet no less political manner. |
Re-take is not a comprehensive survey of the work of all indigenous photographers. Instead it aims to highlight the different nature of representation when Aboriginal artists take the camera into their own hands. While Aboriginal identity is central to works in this exhibition, the artists in Re-take celebrate difference, while upholding the shared values of heritage, community, self-determination and artistic expression.
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After 200 Years was a three year photographic project that worked to overcome the problems associated with documentary photography and its role in the creation and perpetuation of negative images of Aboriginal people. While placing itself squarely within the documentary tradition, the project sought to represent the diversity of contemporary Aboriginal life in Australia. A total of twenty indigenous and non-indigenous photographers worked in twenty communities for a period of up to two months. The collaborative nature of the project ensured that the participants could control and direct the work of the photographer, as well as determine the selection of images and accompanying texts. As a result, the photographs reveal the tension, anxiety, self-doubt and joy of those on both sides of the camera, as they work towards establishing a more successful and equitable way of making pictures. | This exhibition contains the work of a number of the indigenous photographers involved in the After 200 Years project. It is interesting to note that at the time of the commencement of the project, only six indigenous photographers were involved, with an additional two (Tess Napaljarri Ross and Helen Napurrurla Morton) assisting Jon Rhodes in his work with the community of Yuendumu in Central Australia. Given the number of indigenous photographers that have appeared since that time, it is heartening to realise that such disproportionate representation should, and will not, occur again. |
After 200 Years was coordinated by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and was funded by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program and the National Publications Program of the Australian Bicentennial Authority. The National Gallery of Australia acquired a selection of 100 images from the project in 1990.
Kelly
Gellatly |
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