Your Place Our Country Exhibition
UNE students study in rural and urban environments all across Australia. In our inaugural competition we invited you to discover the First Nations' Country on which you study and share your ‘place’ with us. Almost 40 students rose to the challenge, submitting more than 100 photographs. In this digital exhibition you will find the six (6) winning photographs as selected by our judges. We have also shared some honourable mentions.
Winning photographs (2022)
Image: Gumbaynggirr Country (Woolgoolga Headland , NSW) by Leanne Kelly
"The Gumbaynggirr People call the Milky Way, Bindarray Windala, River in the Stars. I've always felt a deep connection to the night sky and find stargazing to be quite meditative. Not long after I took this self-portrait at the Woolgoolga Headland, on Gumbaynggirr Country, a large male kangaroo quietly came and lay next to me, and together we took in the majesty and mystery of the galaxy that ebbed and flowed above us." Leanne Kelly
"Very evocative of the place of the human in the context of timeless space and place. Technically accomplished. Good lines drawing the eye across the image. Good lighting."
Prof. Simon Evans
"A nicely composed frame that inspires awe, reminding you of the vastness of our country and beauty in nightfall." Beth MacRaild O’Loughlin
"quirky style of storytelling" Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam
Image: Anaiwan Country (Armidale, NSW) by Jack Higgins
"Taken at The Blue Hole Gara Gorge. During the day I regularly go exploring to find new locations for my love for landscape astrophotography. This means I end up finding some amazing views which I’m able to capture during the day. On this particular day, I followed a smaller track, crawled around some rocks, and got far too close to the rock ledge to find this stunning view of Anaiwan Country." Jack Higgins
"Evokes a peaceful landscape very nicely.. Rock and yellow plant in foreground nicely contrasting. Nice complementarity in the horizon line dipping towards the rising foreground lines. Foreground and sky nicely lit, with middle ground darker but not muddy." Prof. Simon Evans
"a sense of space and calmness" Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam
Image: Adnyamathana Country (Flinders Ranges, SA) by Mijanou Reynolds
"One of the many joys of living in an arid environment is the vast expanse of space that contains so much wonderful flora and fauna. The Sturt Desert Pea, blooming in its scarlet glory, proclaims its strength and determination to flourish despite adversity and thrive in our country." Mijanou Reynolds
"Love the choice of perspective and framing of the natural features (Sturt’s Desert Peas), that invite you into the landscape and lead you from the foreground to deeper within the landscape." Beth MacRaild O’Loughlin
"great response [to] the theme of the competition" Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam
Image: Larrakia Country (Darwin, NT) by Josephine Vassiliou. All rights reserved.
"The beauty of the cool, dry season nights one can experience on Larrakia Country, is difficult to reflect in words alone. I wanted to capture and convey the fragrant crisp air creating movement in the rustling trees, and the majesty of the clear diamond sky. These are but fleeting wonders that precede a lengthy season of cloudy and muggy weather." Josephine Vassiliou
"Love that the photographer hasn’t chosen the ‘perfect’ exposure, instead the slightly dark and underexposed shot captures the warm orange light dancing across the trees, with the stars glistening in the sky above." Beth MacRaild O’Loughlin
Image: Barunggam Country (Toowoomba, Qld) Shay-Lee Coulson
"This photograph is one from a study of 20 exploring the relationship between the object and the viewer. Here, the natural position has been flipped. The plant, daucus carota (wild carrot) takes a towering form while the viewer conversely, is made diminutive. Wild Carrot plants, native to Eurasia, were introduced to Australia and are now considered an invasive species. They can be found along the roads in many towns with cleared and farmed lands – just like this one growing in Toowoomba. This weed has found its place and is grown from Indigenous land." Shay-Lee Coulson
"Slightly blurry, capturing the movement of the moment - a gasp of wind on a clear blue day. A beautifully reflective and emotive shot." Beth MacRaild O’Loughlin
Image: Djabuganjdji Country (Mareeba, Qld) by Emma Grabowski
"A beautiful place of rest along the Goldsborough Trail. This is a great spot to disconnect and just be with nature." Emma Grabowski
"Slightly stock feeling but strong sense of a pocket of nature." Prof. Simon Evans
Honourable mentions
"Okay framing by the trees. Colour not forced. Good lines." Prof. Simon Evans
"Very evocative of place – timeless sky and contingent human presence; strong contrast of nature and technology. Strong composition. Technically accomplished" Prof. Simon Evans
"wonderful colours and clean lines" Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam
"Wide angle makes for almost a forced perspective – which with the blurring of gutter and tree takes what could be a quite documentary image and evokes more of a story of place." Prof. Simon Evans
"Using the landscape with the silhouetted trees naturally frames the colourful light of sunrise/sunset." Beth MacRaild O’Loughlin
"I liked this as a colour study. While not naturalistic, it doesn’t appear too artificial. It gives a strong sense of the intensity of the sky." Prof. Simon Evans
"a lovely photo" Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam
"By excluding the horizon line the photographer has created a compressed depth of field, the layers interwoven with the richly textured landscape." Beth MacRaild O’Loughlin
"Nice composition and light" Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam
"A gorgeous landscape, captured in a way that shows the Milky Way. The longer exposure balances the sky with the flow of the water below." Beth MacRaild O’Loughlin
"River foreground nicely realised." Prof. Simon Evans
"A different view and angle make it work" Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam
"engaging, interesting image" Assoc. Prof. Wayne Quilliam
"A whole other world beneath our feet; a coastal rockpool with rich ochre colours, their abstract shapes framing the central pool." Beth MacRaild O’Loughlin
Contact Us
For further information, contact us at yourplaceUNE@une.edu.au
This project is run as a collaboration between UNE Library, Oorala Aboriginal Centre and UNE Life.
