Island cultures that speak to the world

Ricky Maynard. Photo: courtesy the Examiner, Launceston.

Photo and video projects on Flinders and Cape Barren islands in Bass Strait are grabbing attention at home and abroad.

Powerful black-and-white images taken on Flinders Island by Tasmanian Aboriginal photographer Ricky Maynard have attracted a strong following in Australia, France and America.

Maynard, who has a home and studio on the island, works in the long tradition of documentary photography, using a large wooden bellows camera and hood.

“I spend a long time building friendships with communities and getting them involved in the picture-making,” Maynard says.

From left: Hector Grimshaw, Richard Bladel, Alexandra Anderson, Thomas Wise, Dylan Purdon and Jim Everett at Flinders Island District High School, TAS. Photo: Gabi Mocatta.

“The integrity must be rock solid. That’s why I’ve found my voice in this style of work.

“It’s about correcting false recordings of history and looking ahead to reconciliation. I want people to be able to look at these landscapes and portraits in 100 years time and have a true sense of my era.”

Cape Barren Island writer and artist Jim Everett is also looking to the future, working with Kickstart Arts’ Richard Bladel and ten other artists on The Happiness Project.

“Islands are not a refuge from life, and people have a powerful sense of pride about coming from Flinders and Cape Barren,” Bladel says.

“I have a strong interest in community-based education and developing a contemporary understanding of Aboriginal culture,” says Everett, who was born on Flinders Island.

Dylan Purdon with his buddies from the Happiness Project, TAS. Photo: Gabi Mocatta.

“I’m helping kids on Flinders and Cape Barren develop trust and confidence so they can tell the stories they want to have recorded about what makes them happy.”

Everett, a former ABC broadcaster, has been at the forefront of Tasmanian Aboriginal politics for more than 30 years.

Now, in a project he says is one of the most challenging of his career, he is offering his cultural knowledge and relationship with his ancestors to the children who are making the videos.