Exhibition: Unfinished Business – Belinda Mason
Unfinished Business in an exhibition of photographic portraits revealing the stories of thirty First Nations people with lived experience of disability from across Australia.
‘Each participant’s story is complex and intertwined with Australia’s political and social history, which has resulted in today’s high rates of disability in Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities.
Through their involvement in the project, each participant’s self-narratives which accompany their portraits contextualise and draw much-needed attention to critical issues that impact on their lives.
This exhibition highlights works from award-winning human rights social documentarian Belinda Mason Knierim OAM, videography from Dieter Knierim, and cultural collaboration by Latja Latja/Narungga man Uncle John Baxter, created to coincide with the 24th Session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and was first shown in September 2013 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The exhibition was also presented in New York as part of the 2014 United Nations World Conference on Indigenous Persons and has been travelling around Australia before stopping at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre.
As part of the curation of the exhibition in the Birrarung gallery, the images of Unfinished Business are complemented by mobility aids loaned from the Brotherhood of St Laurence and floral art installations by Alchemy Orange, a botanical design studio based in Melbourne. This First Nations owned and operated business focuses on challenging the preconceived notions of what constitutes floral art by re-contextualising mundane and unconventional materials.’ Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre.
Photograph above: Belinda Mason. Aunty Gayle.
Birrarung Gallery. Melbourne Museum until 21 April 2024
