These animated portraits were created as part of Wangaba Barnigu, Wangabani (Staying Alive)—an exhibition commissioned by the Western Australian Museum and developed in collaboration with Big hART and young Indigenous women from Ieramugadu (Roebourne), WA. Running from March to December 2024 on screens at the museum’s entrance, the project is deeply rooted in a connection to Country, weaving together photography, digital illustration, and moving imagery to honour a sense of place.

For my part, I worked with portraits of local young women and landscape photography captured on Country, blending the two into a series of ethereal, cinemagraphic compositions. Using a double exposure aesthetic, I created moving images where the young women don’t just stand in the landscape—they dissolve into it, becoming one with the wildflowers, the trees, and earth that holds them. These works blur the boundaries between subject and setting, evoking a sense of presence and belonging.