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(pensive ethereal music)
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(pensive ethereal music continues)
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(pensive ethereal music continues)
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I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners
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of this country as I stand on
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in order to be part of this,
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and to be acquired by
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The National Portrait Gallery of Canberra.
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It is an honour
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to showcase the beauty of my mayatja,
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Anangu mayatja, wati, minyma, kungka.
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Meaning the elders, the men, the women,
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and the younger generation of women,
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and the brother in there, marutjue.
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And then to capture the beauty
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and the essence of these people,
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it was about empowerment.
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It was about the subject matter.
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It was about holding onto the importance
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of who we are as Anangu.
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In front and behind the lens.
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How the lens can capture the beauty
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and the story of one side face.
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If you look at the photographs, you know you've captured
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the beauty of either the left or the right.
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It's about the kuru.
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Looking deep within the eye of a person.
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And that person is not only a person
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but it is a person of significance,
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of Tjukurpa, story,
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Inma, song,
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Miil-miilpa, sacredness of the individual,
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what their duty,
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what their responsibility lies within themselves.
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So that's the story about what I've captured.
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It's about empowerment.
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And it's found a place of prestigiousness.
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(pensive ethereal music continues)
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And those photographs weren't all taken in one studio.
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Those photographs was taken in three parts of a studio.
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But I must also say my wife was also with me,
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Kaye Victoria Lowah.
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That me and Kaye travelled
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under Mimili Maku Arts' name,
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and we went to four communities.
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We went to Indulkana.
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Obviously we went to Mimili community,
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but we also went to Ernabella community, Pukatja.
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And we also went to Amata.
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And to come into one's space,
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it's very intimidating for me.
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Ngayulu kuntaringu.
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I get shamed to ask.
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But I had to ask for permission to capture.
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And once they gave me that opportunity to capture
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and to photograph these people in their place,
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and space, and time, and canvas,
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and everyone was working at that time in that place.
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And they only gave me five minutes of their time.
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Only five minutes, those photographs.
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10 minutes, those photographs.
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Was given because
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we just Uber Eats, we just went boof boof, in and out.
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But that's how quick it was.
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Those photographs was captured
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in 10 to 15 minutes per person.
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And because I mastered the ISO, mastered the skills of this,
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it's been a while, I'm bit crusty now with the camera.
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I haven't touched the camera for a while.
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But when I have that opportunity,
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I work with two elements.
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I work with the moon,
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I work with the sun.
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And it's unreal
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that I wouldn't be sitting here today
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if it wasn't for those people in that corridor,
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first corridor as you walk into this building.
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And to have that honour,
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it's a testimony that I captured
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the time, the place, the moment, Iriti, ngula, kuwari.
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Or Iriti, kuwari, ngula. Iriti - old, kuwari - now, ngula
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in the future - Palya.
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And we have all these outlets
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and all these things of the diversity
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and the beauty of art and photography.
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It's just people are just pushing boundaries.
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And it's not only photography.
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It's not only painting, it's sound,
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it's music, it's football, it's running.
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And to have all that, it's art is about sponsorship.
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It's looking after the ones in our community.
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And there's so much, so much.
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So it relates to who I am as an artist also, that.
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Mimili and the people that we work with,
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we are pushing boundaries.
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And I'm glad that I am pushing boundaries
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and pushing places of things.
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Because I have someone that can help me
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push those boundaries.
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When I push those boundaries,
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we are pushing these boundaries together,
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Ngapartji, ngapartji. 50/50.
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And it's about appreciating.
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'Cause I've learned to forgive.
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The hardest thing in life is to forgive.
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And if you can forgive, you know your works will travel.
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And I didn't realise how important my work was
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until my friend, "Robert, the timing is not right.
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"The timing is not right."
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The timing is now.
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I've seen it.
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But I could sit here and talk all day about APY lands
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and the importance of Indulkana,
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the importance of Mimili, Fregon,
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Ernabella, Amata, Kanpi, Nyapari,
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Pipalyatjara, Warburton Ranges, Ntaria Hermannsburg,
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Yuenduumu, Papunya.
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We all good at our work because we all follow our cultures.
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We follow one Tjukurpa, transition.
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And holding onto, kanyintjaku,
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holding onto the importance of culture
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and looking after one another.
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Palya.
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I can keep rawa, but wanti.
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(crew laughing)
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No, that was really great.