A new exhibition by Adelaide-based photographer and film director Christopher Houghton features portraits of three generations of Ngarrindjeri women and landscape images from their homeland, taking in Hindmarsh Island (Kumarangk) and the Ngarrindjeri lands across South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula.
The idea for the exhibition came about after a 2011 meeting between Houghton and the three Ngarrindjeri women in his portraits – Rita Lindsay, her daughter Audrey and grand-daughter Rita Junior: “I happened to be working in Goolwa about ten years after the Hindmarsh Island bridge had been built, when I witnessed a reconciliation ceremony initiated by the Ngarrindjeri,” says Houghton. “It was the first time I’d been personally exposed to the Hindmarsh Bridge affair and after being introduced to the Lindsay’s I was incredibly moved by the stories they shared with me. Over time, they became interested in being involved in a project which transcends the politics around this tragedy and instead pays homage to, and celebrates their intensely personal connection to country."
Houghton used a wooden 5x4 field camera to shoot the portraits and landscapes, explaining that he hoped it would honour the historic traditions of the landscape and the Lindsay women. “Using a traditional approach slows the whole process down. It requires you to commit completely to each photograph,” he says. “Compared with digital photography it takes significantly more time to set up and capture a photograph. It’s a tempered and organic process and after a while that practice becomes meditative – you have to become immersed in the landscape and be truly present in the moment, which is when the best 'art' tends to happen.”
'Time and Place' opens Friday 1 June at the Goolwa Signal Point Gallery, SA. The exhibition is presented by Country Arts SA and the Alexandrina Council and runs until 21 July. Entry is free.
