Tony Albert’s photographic series, Optimism (2008) depicts Albert’s cousin, Ethan, a young Aboriginal man who lives in the rainforest area of Northern Queensland. Ethan is pictured in a variety of urban settings, facing away from the viewer with a jawun on his back. A jawun is a traditional basket unique to the rainforest area of Northern Queensland and is used for various utilitarian and ceremonial purposes. In each photograph, Albert has filled the jawan with things that relate to the location. The paraphernalia of a football fan hangs behind Ethan’s head as he joins a crowd heading toward a football stadium. Grocery items are stuffed into the jawan on a trip to the supermarket. A mixture of traditional and non-traditional items is carried in the jawun as Ethan negotiates different urban and rural situations.
This series celebrates the intrinsic relevance of Indigenous identity in the everyday life of an urban-based Aboriginal artist, and expresses the benefit of exchange between an urban and traditional life. It illustrates Albert’s link to the rainforest area from where his family originates, his experiences living in the city, and the close ties he keeps with his community.
(2014)
Chromogenic prints are printed on paper that has at least three emulsion layers containing invisible dyes and silver salts. Each emulsion layer is sensitive to a different primary colour of light (red, green or blue). The development process converts the hidden dyes to visible colour depending on the amount of light it was exposed to. This type of paper is commonly used to print from colour negatives or digital files to produce a full-colour image. It can also be used to print black-and-white images, giving softer grain and less contrast than gelatin silver prints. Commonly known as c-type prints, chromogenic processing was developed in the 1940s and widely used for colour printing, including for domestic snapshots. While recent years have seen this process accompanied by ink-jet and digital printing technologies, chromogenic printing still remains in use to this day.