Aboriginal photographer Steven Rhall uses photography to investigate contemporary and historical themes of Aboriginal culture and its ties to the land in his collection Kulin Project now on show in Melbourne.
Kulin is a common Aboriginal word for human being and the Kulin Nation is made of several indigenous groups who lived in and around the city of Melbourne, they were in harmony with the land for thousands of years before white settlement.
Rhall, a Taungurung man, has shot this series in Melbourne with the intention of creating “a dialogue through both what is present and what is absent” . With his focus on the “Kulin Nation that envelops Melbourne and much of its surrounding area, these images are records of connection, disconnection, history and knowledge”.
The notion of Country is also explored in Rhall’s work, with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal responses and connections to the land considered through the use of familiar icons; imagery designed to challenge contemporary mores and stereotypes around Aboriginal culture. His images also explore Rhall’s own story and those told to him.
The photographs in this collection are “informed by a range of responses to each area and landscape of the Kulin Nation – Woiwurrung, Taungurung, Wathaurung, Boonwurrung, and Dja Dja Wurrung – their boundaries and social environments”.
Alison Stieven-Taylor
Kulin Nation
Until 24 March, 2013
Centre for Contemporary Photography
404 George Street, Fitzroy,
Melbourne
Australia
Gallery Hours: Wednesday to Friday 11am-6pm
Saturday & Sunday 12noon-5pm
