Koorie mates in the tea trees
Wes Stacey maintained an active freelance
practice through the 1970s, specialising in travel and architectural subjects. Stacey’s early interests in travel photography and cultural heritage led him to focus on the landscape genre in subsequent decades. Informed by critical discussions of the Australian landscape that flourished during the 1970s and ‘80s, Stacey developed an interest in landscape photography that acknowledged both Indigenous and Settler heritages. At the same time, he began using a Widelux camera, the panoramic format of which helped to create particularly immersive views of the Australian bush.
'Koorie mates in the tea trees' was produced while Stacey was working with the Aboriginal tribal elder Guboo Ted Thomas and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies to document Indigenous heritage sites on the South Coast of NSW during 1977–80. When human figures appear in Stacey’s work from this period, they typically emerge from the shadows in unexpected ways, unsettling the timelessness of an idyllic landscape. The two Aboriginal men in this photograph seem to occupy the image as young custodians bearing witness to Stacey’s presence on their land.
(2014)
Gelatin silver prints are black-and-white photographic prints that have been created using papers coated with an emulsion of gelatin and light-sensitive silver salts. After the papers are briefly exposed to light (usually through a negative), a chemical developer renders the latent image as reduced silver, which is then fixed and washed. This technique was first introduced in the 1870s and is still used today. Most twentieth-century black-and-white photographs are gelatin silver prints. They are known for being highly detailed and sharply defined prints with a distinguishable smooth, even image surface.