In December 2024, me and Hobart photographer Andrew Wilson did some trial portrait shoots with 5 of the participants from the 177 Nations of Tasmania podcast.
Andrew obviously took, the photos, while I filmed part of the process and did some short interviews with each person. The aim of this was on the one hand, to demystify the process for future process, knowing that having your portrait taken can be a nerve-wracking experience for many. On the other hand, it was also about showing a bit of how the process operated, how Andrew gets the results he does and ,in the process, learning a bit about each person and where they come from. First we have Loni, who comes from Samoa. As you will see, she was proud to display some of the elements of her culture, particularly as it's not something Samoans have a chance to do much in Tasmania. I also managed to captured a couple of what I found quite meaningful moments in the interaction between Andrew and Loni.
The next video is of Cedrick, who left his home in the Democratic Republic of Congo at around 12 years of age, and then lived with his family in a kind of limbo in Benin until he was 18, when the family was accepted as Humanitarian Entrant to Australia and we resettled in Tasmania. He opened up quite a bit during the photoshoot and in the interview afterwards, and I'm really glad that he felt so comfortable that he could be so honest and vulnerable about his feelings.
Denisse didn't have any special clothing from Ecuador, but she did bring along an interesting object with a story that connects her with her grandmother. She also has an interesting story about the origins of her attraction to Australia, which began at quite an early age.
Last, but not least of these videos was with Cholpon. Cholpon grew up in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan on the shore of Issyk Kul, a large and spectacular alpine lake. I'm sure you'll agree that the outfits that she wore are pretty special, and both are embroidered with symbols connected with Kyrgyz historical nomadic culture.
So, if you're in Hobart between February 3 and March 7, please come and check us out at the Henry Jones Art Hotel between 10am and 7pm. There will also be more video content on the 177 Nations of Tasmania Facebook page and YouTube, so please follow for more.
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