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In the big picture, I have tried to visualize different visions of landscape in one image: the Western photographic approach combined with the Aboriginal Australian tradition of recognizing landscapes as physical and symbolic expressions of creation stories. Aboriginal art is recognized in the international arts community as a vibrant art form. The best paintings fetch prices of several hundred thousand dollars at international auctions, yet they originate in small isolated communities, which for all practical purposes are off-limits to the wider world. We managed to get permission to work in the homeland of the Pintupi people in the Kintore region of Australia's central desert, which is so remote that less than 20 years ago a clan of desert dwellers walked into a settlement which had never had contact with the outside world.
- Frans Lanting |