NOW THIS IS COUNTRY
By Kerry Reed-Gilbert
Spirit Sky (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2000)
The Journey (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 1998)
Earth, Wind & Water (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2001)
Koori Kids, Koori Knockout (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 1994)
Land of Many Colours (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 1997)
Spirit of Place (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 1998)
Always Life (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 1997)
Clouds at Play (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2001)
This is Country (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2000)
Strength, Dignity and Pride (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 1997)
Cool waters - Kathryn Gorge (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2003)
Black Magic (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 1998)
Sky Visions (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2001)
Wiradjuri Warrior (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2001)
Land, life and freedom (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2000)
Wave Rock (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 2003)
Broome Horizon (Photo by Kerry Reed-Gilbert, 1997)
Artist's Statement: As an self-taught artist in the area of photography and writing when I am not doing those hundred and one other things I like to have to have a camera in my hand. I got my first camera for my big '13' birthday and have been taking photographs since then. I am the family historian as I love to photograph all my Mob when we come together. For me as an artist using photography I try to portray to the audience the story of my journey as an Aboriginal woman what it means to look after and belong to Country. I also want to share with the audience as they look upon each individual photograph the clear message that we all belong to Country and that for me means 'we are all responsible and accountable to the Land, our Mother, and the people in it'.
For me personally, my sense of belonging comes from the spirituality of who I am as an Aboriginal woman and my connections to the land. I try to share this 'spirit of place, of belonging' with the wider community through the images I photograph. I try to teach the non-Aboriginal people the sense of belonging to this land and its importance to Aboriginal people. It is not just a piece of land, through my photography, I ask them the question, how can you belong to a country and not know the country? How call you call this country home if you don't care about her and look after her? As Aboriginal people sharing this country I believe basically that we are at the bottom of the food chain, what I try to do with my photography is to also give the wider community the concept of what those issues are about: Inequality, injustices and the racism that we as a people face in our own country still in the year 2004.
I love to use the combination of my poetry with my photography because then I believe with the combination of the two art forms the message has to be stronger and have more impact. One day I would love to have the 'Kerry Reed-Gilbert' Aboriginal Artists Gallery not just to showcase my work but all the Aboriginal artists out there. That's my dream. My works have been exhibited nationally and internationally and are exhibited frequently at Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative in Sydney. My first solo exhibition titled 'Talkin' About Country' was launched at Boomalli in April 2002.
My latest poetry book titled the same as the exhibition Talkin' About Country was launched in conjunction with the photographic exhibition. My photographs are currently held in private collections such as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and have been exhibited at the Sydney Olympics and the Athens Olympics. My photographs are for people to know and to love this land that we call home and to show them that should we not look after this land we will lose the beauty, spirit and life that we cherish each time we walk another mile across the earth.
About the Photographer Kerry Reed-Gilbert
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A Wiradjuri woman from central NSW, Kerry is a business woman, writer and photographer who has a comprehensive list of publications to her credit. Ngunnunggula (Belonging to here) is a collection of works by contemporary older Aboriginal writers from the Hoxton Park Aboriginal Group produced from a series of writers' workshops she conducted in 1997. Message Stick is a collection of contemporary Aboriginal writers from around Australia for IAD Press Kerry compiled and edited which was launched at the 'Festival of The Dreaming' in 1999. Kerry compiled and edited The Strength of Us as Women: Black Women Speak a collection of nineteen Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander women speaking on current issues as well as compiling and editing Our place, stories about good practice in youth work with Aboriginal young people, with Shane Brown for South Sydney Youth Services. Kerry is also a photographer. To complement her latest poetry book titled Talkin' About Country her first solo exhibition was launched at Boomalli. Her photographic works are exhibited frequently at Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative in Sydney. Kerry has been published in books, catalogues and magazines. |
[Above] Photo of Kerry Reed-Gilbert by Geoff Ross, 2002.
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Thylazine No.10 (September, 2004) |
