‘This Is My Country,’ is an ongoing visual documentation of Australia’s indigenous people by Ingetje Tadros. It communicates the legacy of historical domination and oppression of Australia’s first inhabitants within a contemporary context. Tadros’s, ‘This is My Country’ is a compelling look at people balanced on the precipice of life, who for the most part are disenfranchised, neglected, and often forgotten. “Her images, confronting but always compassionate, communicate the plight of Aboriginals in Australia but also in sharp contrast and present moments of hope. Her work stands out from other photographers who have documented Australia’s indigenous inhabitants because of her collaborative approach and becoming a stakeholder in the people’s lives she is documenting,†says, Dr Jack Picone, Visiting Assistant Professor, Visual Studies Department, Lingnan University, Hong Kong. To document Australia’s indigenous people, Tadros based in Broome Western Australia travels to remote regions of Australia’s vast and unforgiving outback, and spends time in Aboriginal communities. Ingetje recalls, “I witnessed a high incidence of alcoholism, domestic violence, general health issues, an alarming frequency of suicide - communities fractured and in distress. I documented sections of communities mismanaged by their governments, not fully understood by a wider aid community, and largely left unseen by the remainder of Australian societyâ€. A voiceless and unseen minority cosigned to lives of quiet desolation.Â
