'Special place' portraits capture essence of aunties and their stories

Carol Petterson holds a portrait of her taken at Strawberry Hill. (ABC Great Southern: Astrid Volzke) Link copiedShareShare articleAunty Vernice Gillies describes the attachment she feels when visiting a site of ancient local fish traps as like "an umbilical cord". A Menang elder from Albany, on Western Australia's south coast, she relishes the peacefulness of the landscape. "Because she, our Boodja [land], has been healed by all the right people," she said. "You can feel it when you just sit and breathe deeply." Vernice Gillies feels a close attachment to the fish traps. (Supplied: Nic Duncan) This profound connection to country is what photographer Nic Duncan was aiming to capture for the Menang-led portrait exhibition Binalup, Menang | First Light, First People, part of ongoing celebrations for Albany's bicentenary. The exhibition features the portraits of 29 elders and younger Menang people, photographed in places significant to them. Olivia Roberts was photographed at special place on Mount Melville. (Supplied: Nic Duncan) It also showcases the stories of elders whose lives, experiences and contributions have largely been absent from the historical record. "They weren't high-profile people, but they helped build this region and this state," Menang elder Carol Petterson said. The framed portraits will be accompanied by captions from each participant's own words, drawn from their recorded interviews. The project began as a conversation around a campfire, and grew into a two-year collaboration between Duncan, an award-winning photographer, and Aunty Carol. "I'd just finished reading Aunty Carol's book that week … and suddenly there I was camping on country with her in the places that she'd written about," Duncan said. "She was pointing bent, gnarled fence posts out to me, that her father likely hammered into the ground, and showed me bush food and her totem plants." Nic Duncan and Carol Petterson have been collaborating on this project for the past two years. (ABC Great Southern: Astrid Volzke) The conversation turned to the bicentenary. "After the last referendum on the Voice, it was an overwhelming no," Aunty Carol said. "So when the bicentenary was announced, a lot of local people didn't want a part of it and they were angry. "The City [of Albany] thankfully set up a reference group and it gave a platform for people to air their discomfort or their dissatisfaction with the city, but slowly we got around to it." With each participant selecting their own personally significant location, Duncan said the challenge was to honour both the individual and their connection to place. This included a powerful childhood story from Aunty Treasy Woods. Nic Duncan photographs Vali Wood on the banks of the Kalgan River, with five generations of family in one portrait. (Supplied: Nic Duncan) "She talks of her grandfather taking her to a particular place on Marine Drive [in Albany] and the story of what happened there," Duncan said. "When we went back to that spot, I asked if she could remember how she felt as a seven-year-old girl. She just looked away, and she was just right back in that place, and I think I caught that. Treasy Woods looks out from a special place on Marine Drive. (Supplied: Nic Duncan) Another portrait features Aunty Lynette Knapp at Mount Melville. "My portrait is taken where our tin hut was, and being back here now, it feels like home," she said. "I lived here on the Mount Melville reserve for many years from the age of 12." Lynette Knapp at the exact location on Mount Melville where her family's hut once stood on the reserve. (Supplied: Nic Duncan) For Aunty Carol, it was Barmah, or Strawberry Hill Farm, where her family would have camped before the settlers came. Elders will take a digital version of the exhibition into local schools, sharing their stories directly with young people. "We know most of the kids' family backgrounds, and when we start telling them who they're connected to, they start making the connections too." Aunty Carol hopes the collection will become an enduring local community resource. "Whether we put it in a museum or whether we put it somewhere, we've got to find a home for it so that people can readily access it for research," she said. "Previously, people had to go to the state library or somewhere else because they simply couldn't find this information. Now we'll have it here." Anthony Turner was born and raised on Menang Country and has special memories of Binalup where he chose to be photographed. (Supplied: Nic Duncan) Anthony Turner was born and raised on Menang Country and has special memories of Binalup, where he chose to be photographed. He works as an Indigenous employment adviser for Kmart and Target in Queensland, and is among the younger people featured in the exhibition. He wants young Indigenous people to dream big. "I hope my career journey inspires others," he said. The exhibition Binalup, Menang | First Light, Firs

'Special place' portraits capture essence of aunties and their stories

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