Face facts

ANU photography students have snapped a catalogue of characters from a country town.

If Australia had a face, it’s unlikely that you would spot it on the main street of Dalgety.

The tiny town in the rugged hills of south–eastern New South Wales is a time capsule of country life — too easily categorised as simple to the uninitiated.

It is here, in the town’s main hall, that every woman from the Snowy River area is invited to congregate each year, to hear a notable speaker and share experiences. Lawyers, home makers, farmers, shop keepers and a kaleidoscope of other pigeonholes are cast aside for the day as Dalgety women assemble for the Dalgety Women’s Day. The youngest was five days old and the oldest aged 97.

This year, 14 second year ANU Photomedia students attended the event (including three young men with special dispensation to attend the women’s-only proceedings), in a project to photograph every woman who attended.

The team photographed 240 women in four and a half hours.The result may not be the face of Australia — it’s better than that. It’s many faces of one small part of Australia, the faces providing just a glimpse of the complexity of our community.

“You have at the end of a big day, a document of all these women from the Snowy River Shire coming together in May 2005 and it’s a really substantial record,” says Denise Ferris, Photomedia lecturer, who organised the project.

“Taking the full set of studio lights and equipment to Dalgety Hall gives us an opportunity to show the community what art students can do. Most of the women at the day hadn’t met an art student – or been professionally photographed.

“Equally, for the students it was quite an experience, to meet that many people from so many different backgrounds. It was two different worlds meeting in a very positive way.”

At this year’s event, Margaret Fulton was the drawcard, speaking at length about her progression from being seen as ‘the cook’ to a culinary icon. the speech, women were invited to be photographed.

“Initially some of the women were a bit leery about having their photo taken but we carefully explained our intention to document the event and almost every woman at the event agreed to participate. Some were queuing up for hours.”

All participants signed model releases. The outcome of the day is a remarkable collection of images, which will form an online virtual exhibition at http://photomedia.net.au.

The images will also be displayed at next year’s Dalgety Women’s Day projected life-size with audio, the text and stories written by the women themselves.

Images taken by Photomedia lecturers Denise Ferris and Cathy Laudenbach with students Alisha Colwell, Lisa Martinez, Emma Zoller, Beck Browne, Robert Guth, Jacqui Ockwell, Brendan Jenkins, Mel Hill, Anna Perrett, Anna Raupach, Emily Jackett, Sarah Evans, and Timothy Dwyer.

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