Wik Elder, Gladys (from Returning To Places That Name Us)

A member of the Ben Lomond/Cape Portland people of Tasmania, Maynard has been documenting Aboriginal communities since he photographed his own during the mutton-bird season in The Moonbird People (1985–88). Returning to Places that Name Us continues Maynard’s interest in recording and, as he says, “leaving proof” of the struggles of Aboriginal people. This series, a departure from earlier landscape compositions, is the only body of work to date in which Maynard has used full-frame portraits. Removed from background and context, Maynard urges the viewer to recognise in these portraits the determination and authority of the Wik elders.