Hello, Rebecca and Aaron here. We are entering our final week of our residency up in Gathaagudu — Shark Bay — Malgana Country. We have had a pretty special time up here. The way we prefer to work is relational — made in dialogue with the places and people we meet, and we’ve been lucky to find ourselves in a community that has warmly welcomed us, and our ideas. The first few weeks we didn’t take a single portrait — instead spending our time meeting, talking, walking, and learning about this little town, and the Country we find ourselves amongst. We have been helped by many along the way, most notably by Katie at the Shark Bay Discovery Centre, who has seemingly introduced us to half the town. From there it has snowballed, and we have been lucky to tag along and photograph a range of people at work on various land management projects. Whether it is the first chat, weeks in, or sometimes never, when it feels like the right time to ask for a picture, you can tell. 

We are informed by the process of making work, so are in the midst of figuring out how to best frame and talk about the project as it progresses. We came here with an idea of looking at how people manage and work with Country as they collectively navigate the maintenance and transformations happening. There are many ways of relating to this place, and we have been interested in imaging perspectives that see people and place as interconnected — considering how this relationship flows back and forth. 

We have been asking ourselves what it means to be ‘in’ a place, as opposed to ‘on’ it. Sometimes, when we speak to tourists they say they have ‘done’ it. Last week we held a work in progress showing at the town hall, and displayed a selection of our portraits and photos to the community, giving them away at the end of the event. It was great to see such a warm reaction to our work, and funny the small things that people picked up on. While there are no set outcomes lined up yet, we are looking forward to continuing this project into the future.

Rebecca and Aaron’s residency is made possible through the Regional Exhibition Touring Boost with funding managed by Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and delivered by ART ON THE MOVE. To learn more visit Artists in Residence