Photography is a powerful medium for self-expression. Through performative and symbolic imagery, these artists visualise multifaceted identities as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that defy a stereotypical lens.

On display within 'Snap Blak', Michael Riley’s ethereal series imbues everyday objects with deep meaning. His poignant images, assembled to represent multiple aspects of self and Aboriginal experience, include Christian iconography that reflects on the religion’s role in colonial expansion and dispossession of Indigenous people from their cultural and spiritual identities. 

Destiny Deacon’s photographs are charged with social commentary that critiques the politics of representation, perception and identity-making of Indigenous people. Her low-tech methodology rejects the ‘rules’ of photography, embracing a gritty rawness that reflects the realities of Indigenous experience. Deacon’s signature aesthetic and acerbic humour are deliberate means to confront and reclaim control over pervasive narratives of representation. 

Artists engaging in self-portraiture perform versions of their ‘selves’ through a self-reflexive photographic gaze. Steeped in emotion and personal narrative, these works demonstrate a level of vulnerability combined with a sense of immediacy not felt with other mediums.  

Country is a central tenet in identity-making for Indigenous people. ‘Landscape’ photography is grounded by these connections to place and embedded cultural inheritances. Nici Cumpston’s hand-coloured ‘portraits’ are symbolic of her relationship with her ‘great-grandmother’, the Barka (Darling River) and her waterways. The delicate act of hand-painting her photographs is an embodiment of the tenderness and care shown for her Country. Haunting and impactful, her photographs bear witness to enduring ancestral presence, environmental destruction and resilience.