Re-Take

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.

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.