By Helen Cunningham
MELBOURNE — The Centre for Contemporary Photography's (CCP) exhibition of documentary portraits traces the pain and dispossession of many groups in the world today. It is on display until August 23 and will tour Victoria country areas for the next two years.
The exhibition's aim is show images which are thought provoking, with a high standard of excellence. The images the artists capture are profound. No activist in Melbourne should miss the opportunity to see them.
"Romanian Gypsies" shows youngsters gleefully living out of the rubbish dumps searching for something of worth. The essay with it explains how the Gypsies do not receive any welfare or health care as they are not registered and they are suspicious of outsiders. It quotes a Gypsy saying: "When I die you should bury me standing up because I have been on my knees all my life."
Also on view is Joe Castro's "Los Zapatistas" which studies the forgotten, indigenous people of south-east Mexico; Phillip Castle's "The Invisible Wall" which shows the horrifying conditions of displaced groups in the former East Germany, pushed into toxic wastelands by neo-Nazis.
Nina Landis' contribution, "No Entry", documents the protests to save Albert Park in Melbourne. The images of the remaining tree trunks are a funereal, mournful reminder of the mindless, futile, cutting down of trees.
As Landis states: "No Entry documents the story of citizens struggling to preserve inner-city park land from commercialisation. It covers the period of unlawful arrests by a police force instructed by their government to carry out regulations set out by a corporation."
Three photographers study the social outcasts of modern western society: Max Pam's "Homeless in London"; Matthew Sleeth's "Boys' Melbourne", which depicts the heavy drug scene of young male prostitutes; and Elizabeth Ham's study of the "feral" subculture of the displaced poor.
International themes, some commissioned by the Community Aid Abroad, are enlightening. Anna Zahalka's "Tribal Women of Mindanao, Philippines" captures the women's struggle for land ownership and self-determination in strong digitalised images. Mathias Heng's "Chain Gang Studies in Myitkina, Burma" reminded me of the early convict days in Australia — very young males chained and forced to do hard-labour breaking rocks for long stretches of time. The cruelty and inhumanity is shocking.
In contrast, Michael Amendolia captures the humanity of Dr Sandruk Ruit, a Nepalese Sherpa eye surgeon working tirelessly to bring full sight back to people who suffer from cataracts and eye vision loss. Ruit reminds us of our own departed but dearly beloved Dr Fred Hollows.
The CCP was set up to support the work of Victorian photographers and operates on a budget of only $200,000 — 50% from government and the rest raised subscriptions.
CCP has organised an exchange of artists' work as part of the Asialink project. Fiona Foley, an Aboriginal artist from Fraser Island who represents the culture of the Badtjala people, and Geoff Lowe, whose images reflect religion, rock n' roll and ecology, will be displayed at the Whanki Museum in Seoul, Korea. The work of two Korean photographers will be on display at the Melbourne Festival in October and November.
CCP operates at 205 Johnston Street in Fitzroy. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Friday, 11am-5pm, and Saturday, 2pm-5pm. Phone 9417 1549.