Unknown Southern Land
As far back as the time of Aristotle, there was a hypothesized land; a large vast continent that was meant to mirror the great land masses of the northern hemisphere; the term used was Terra Australis Incognita: Unknown Southern Land.
This ongoing series is about my own personal discovery and documentation of Australia as an immigrant to this country. There are no conclusions; just questions and observations in a series of intertwined images that illustrate the tension between what I imagined the country to be beforehand, and what I experienced during my time here.
The title for this series is a play on words and history because this land was always known; just not to Europeans. Aboriginal Australians have inhabited the land for over 60,000 years and have artefacts, artworks and a proven history throughout this time. During my time here, I’ve noticed a country that has not fully reconciled the history of it’s founding and a tension of a western nation in the Asia-Pacific . Despite these confluences there is something that makes this country it’s own.