Kelly Slater. I am without an inherited or indigenous connection to this land, I explore many paths to explore a my place in it.
Monoculture plantation forests displace and replace the stands of native species that once dominated the landscapes of New Zealand and Australia, where grew I up and where I live.
Like the plantation forests that distort the ecologies of their environments, the monoculture of westernisation has distorted and displaced the rich and diverse cultures that existed before them.
Plantation forests not only distort the physical environment they distort people’s connection to the Land. Removing naturally established ecologies degrades the land in the minds of people, who lose respect and concern for these places, seeing them as good for nothing but dumping inconvenient belongings.
Unplaced? I am without an inherited or indigenous connection to Tasmania, yet I live here. I am seeking to understand how my desire to connect with the environment around me, fits into a society that needs to decolonise. Like the pine trees growing row on row, I am the descendent of generations of Northern Hemisphere immigrants. I am not directly transplanted but grown from stock that has adapted to these environments.
Within these strange and dislocated environments, I find space to contemplate both the environmental impacts of colonisation and the legacy of colonial ancestors on my identity.
I can question the pioneering female ideal handed down to me through five generations of women, and look at myself from other perspectives.
Head On at 107 draws together 8 photographic artists. The series have been selected to sit together yet stand apart, representing different approaches. The curatorial process gives equal weight to each artist’s work and unifies the exhibition space. The artists collaborate on installation, promotion and social media, supporting each other through the process of exhibition.
Artists: Allan Coker, Christine Ansorge, Fiona Ruck, Francis Minien, Kate Ballis, Kelly Slater, Natalia Mroz, Suzan Pektas.
Curator: Sandy Edwards
I am a lens-based artist living in Northwest Tasmania. My art practise explores image making that goes beyond conventional representations of landscape and environment. I seek to offer personal interpretation of the human connection to place, I want to express the experience of place and the human relationships to it.
My background is deeply rooted in the arts with two decades of experience as a visual arts student and working as a professional photographer in both private practise and publications. It is only recently that I have begun to seek opportunities to show my work and build deeper connections with the arts community.
Australia's world-leading photography festival once again filters photography down to its finest. The great thing is that Head On's main venues at Bondi and Paddington are just a bus ride away.
Enthralling. Enchanting. Extraordinary. Discover exceptional photography for free around Sydney during the festival 8 Nov–1 Dec 2024