posted on 2009-01-01, 00:00authored byAlison Bennett
This series of photographs focuses on caves in Western Victoria that have a layer of colonial occupation; caves said to be inhabited by bush rangers, escaped convicts, shipwreck survivors and hermits. The photographer was drawn to a rich vein of sites associated with colonial myths of inhabitation. These include the escaped convict William Buckley; Miss Carmichael, survivor of the wreck of the Lochard in 1878; Bushranger Captain Melville, and elusive enigmatic Black Ranges hermit David Ross. The resulting photographs explore the sensory and psychological resonance of these extraordinary places, what they feel like and how they feed the imagination, the need to feel rooted, to feel at home. Her approach embraces the paradoxical ambivalence of this need and the complex process of negotiating our presence in the land.
The Cavity photographic series included the following photographs:
- Melville Caves
- Wildman Cave (East)
- Miss Carmichael's Cave (Longview)
- Buckley's Cave
- Miss Carmichael's Cave
- Wildman Cave
- Sister Rocks
And the following stop motion animation:
- Miss Carmichael's View
History
Series
Cavity
Publisher
Horsham Regional Art Gallery
Place of publication
Horsham, Vic.
Start date
2008-01-01
Material type
picture
Resource type
still image
Language
eng
Notes
This body of creative works were first exhibited 8 January - 10 March 2009 at Horsham Regional Art Gallery. The complete series was also exhibited 23 March - 23 April 2010 Warrnambool Art Gallery. Extracts from the series were included in 'Surveying the Field' at Counihan Gallery 17 July - 16 August 2009 and the Centre for Contemporary Photography 21 May - 18 July 2010. This project was supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria.
Publication classification
J1.1 Major original creative work; JO1 Original creative work - Visual art work