Ricky Maynard investigates his subject’s personality through the mechanical eye of the camera. While this is a common idea in portrait photography, here it is given added meaning through the representation of an Indigenous subject by an Indigenous photographer. Maynard’s images compel the viewer to contemplate the often hidden and tumultuous histories of black and white relations in Australia and to recognise the trials and triumphs of the people he photographs.

Joe Ngallametta was born in 1945 and was one of the most senior Elders and lawmen for the Kugu people. Considered to be a very knowledgeable man, he was referred to as ‘the professor’ in the community. His ancestral country lies south of Aurukun, near Cape Keerweer, in the Holroyd River region.