Dangerous stars honours the lives of rabbits, birds, spiders, and the spectrum of other species with whom we share this planet. It draws on my personal experience of Country while tracing my family’s ancestry. Arising from my deep ties with Bpangerang people, from whom I am descended, and Warlpiri friends who’ve walked with me over the decades of my search.
Underpinning all these works is the conviction that a shared language with Country is not only possible but vitally important. By shared language, I refer to genuine acts of understanding between individuals and the land that sustains them.
Dangerous stars presents afterlife portraits of nonhuman beings ascending and descending between earth and space. I placed corpses on light reactive paper, using a technique of my own devising, called Lumachrome glass printing. The series layers alternative photographic practices, such as lumen printing (sun printing), cliché verre and chemigram, with drawing and painting. I harness decomposition chemistry to create complex colour and detail. I exposed each print for 30 to 50 hours in natural light. Because most materials are found in the landscape, I consider these works as collaborations with Country.
This exhibition is part of Head On Photo Festival Perth, presented by the Head On Foundation.
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