Black & white: documenting Indigenous Australia at MGA

Phillip J. Pike,
Untitled (portrait of Robert Tudawali as Marbuck, Jedda) 1954

Black & white: documenting Indigenous Australia surveys the history of photographers' efforts to document Indigenous Australians. Drawing primarily on material in the MGA Collection, this exhibition features 35 black-and-white photographs by some of Australia's best-known photographers, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

As we mark the anniversary of the Prime Minister's apology to the Stolen Generation, it is a good time to look at the ways Indigenous Australians have been depicted in the history of Australian photography.


J. W. Lindt,
No title (Aboriginal man holding a forked stick) (c. 1873)

In this particular exhibition, i really liked the photographs documenting the indigenous people early on during Australia's colonization. The way in which the white people photographed the aboriginals made them look even more ancient. The studio portrait by J.W Lindt really makes the man look like his from some forgotten time. And the quality of the image considering it was taken in 1873 is amazing.
The same with the portrait by Fred Kruger, his image makes the man look somewhat fantastical, like this man is from some some fantasy world.

Then & Now: South African photography...at MGA

Guy Tillim,
'Bodyguards on the alert' 2006

Then & Now: South African photography is a dialogue between eight documentary photographers whose practices traverse two highly distinctive periods in South African history: before and after the country's transition to democracy.

David Goldblatt's work really appealed to me. His photo's all had amazing compositions and really documented the effects of the Apartheid and how the country was racially segregated. His images also document the juxtaposition between extreme wealth and extreme poverty.

'George Nkomo'

'Johannes Rens'
The image above is so, so powerful. I love the way it is composed and emphasizes the scale of the desk to the small little man sitting behind it.



Gisele Wulfsohn's work was also very appealing. She mainly documented gender, education and health issues (HIV) that were taking place during the Apartheid.

Her work is vibrant but really captures the raw emotion of the subjects.



Graeme Williams work probably emotionally effected me the most. His upfront, documentation of what exactly was going on in South Afirca during the racial segregation and didn't hold back on what images he wanted to capture. They're all hard hitting and extremely powerful. Technically his work was quite straightforward but his main purpose was to document the moment. He got down in the moment and personally captured it.
The image of the dead protestor on the footpath with the 'pretty woman' sign is very effective. The combination of imagery really makes the image powerful.




The above image was also one of my favourites of the exhibition. It depicts an aids victim lying in hospital. It's brutally real and shows exactly what is going on. I particurly like the relationship between the two images inside the image.