Paper short abstract:

Yolngu people use photography to make themselves feel alive and active. Western cultural theorists have long elaborated the relationship between photography and death. In this session we want to highlight the relationship of photography with life.

Paper long abstract:

In this talk we will show how Yolngu use mobile phones, and the photographs we make with them, to renew our law and connections to country. This is a new way to feel alive and full of energy: to see our past and future coming together, full of meaning and power. Our collective, Miyarrka Media, is now also using photography to share Yolngu life with others. We are making digital collages that show how wide and deep we can see, to reveal a shared world of pattern, colour, story, family and feeling.