Andrew Farr, Untalu (Creative 2021)

For the last 2.5 years I have lived with and traveled the country with Anangu (Pitjantjatjara speakers) around Kaltukatjara in the remote south west corner of the Northern Territory. This journey has been a life changing experience and has fundamentally altered my view and understanding of the world. During these travels I have become part of the country, learning about it’s Tjukurpa (ecological lore) and the Pitjantjatjara language. I am have also been adopted into an Anangu family, who are the owners of the Kunapula outstation, about one hour outside of Kaltukatjara. I am currently staying on this outstation. Due to my time with Anganu and the shifting of my own culture, I now find myself as a cultural refugee from mainstream Australian society, destined to remain on the fringe. As a keen photographer I have endeavoured to recreate the magic of the landscapes around Kaltukatjara using my panoramic film camera (Linhof Technorama). The country around Kaltukatjara is some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world. Over the last few years I have captured mainly incredible scenes of weather and country interacting. Due to the Tjukurpa imbedded in these landscapes, the images were never destined for the public domain as they would reveal details and the locations of many sacred sites. Recently I have started drawing on my personal transformation, and journey, to turn these images into works of art, using modern techniques that can be replicated in the dark room. The resulting works still capture the beauty, emotion, magic and provenance of the country, without revealing their location or Tjukurpa.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.