FIRE AND TIME
Australia, 2023 (ongoing)
The spirit of the dingo is omnipresent in Australian landscape.
Neither dog, nor wolf, the iconic Australian dingo holds many mysteries. Sacred in Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, dingoes have since colonization been the victims of a systematic effort at eradication and may be on their way to extinction.
As an ecofeminist artist, I observe the areas of friction between dogs and humans. I am particularly interested in how colonialism affects that bond. My photography projects operate like fables, telling magical stories while encouraging introspection and awareness.
In this work-in-progress, I explore the spiritual connections between dingoes, dogs, the landscape and mythology in Australia. Using Fire and Water as visual anchors, I remind the viewer that honoring indigenous wisdom is essential if we want to be responsible guardians of our planet and ecosystems.
The Australian dingo is a powerful example of colonialism and industrialization disrupting the bond between canids and their people, and leading to the destruction of native species. Dingoes hold a sacred place in Australian First Nations mythology. A food source and hunting partner, dingoes are also viewed as water diviners and creators, equals to humans.
Dingoes were especially important to First Nations women. They helped women participate in the economy and food supply in significant ways, and provided them with protection and greater mobility. Women would carry dingoes draped around their waists for warmth. In some groups, the dingo was so sacred that women would breastfeed orphaned dingo pups.
With colonization came the poisoning of dingoes, to protect newly established livestock holdings against this apex predator. To this day, the Australian government offers bounties for dingo parts. Inhumane and undiscriminating methods of eradication are used, such as meat baits laced with poison or leg traps. This approach has had devastating effects on the entire Australian ecosystem, where the rate of mammalian extinction is unparalleled anywhere in the world.
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Dingoes are water diviners in Aboriginal mythology. They have the capacity to find water holes above and underground. Dingoes can go without water for 22 days.
Warlpiri painter Marshall Poulson paints a map of his people’s land, and the symbol for a water hole. He tells me the story of a disputed water hole which was leased to white ranchers by the government. Marshall hopes it will be returned to his people.
In Australia, bush fires are part of the natural rhythm. First Nations groups have developed methods of controlled fires to protect the land.
Dingoes can go without water for 22 days, and are experts at finding water holes. Doobie enjoys a dip in the community dam.
A dingo mix lit by firelight under the moon. Dingoes can interbreed with dogs.
Under the moon, a dingo-dog mix enjoys a piece of kangaroo tail.
Full moon and clouds.
Danny, a dingo raised by Gloria, spends his days roaming free. He has been spotted as far as 10km away from Gloria’s home. Every night, Danny comes back to Gloria’s and waits patiently until she comes out and presents him with a rotisserie chicken he devours. She is the only person who can hug and kiss him, something she does affectionately every evening.
Bush fires leave a landscape of ash and rebirth, in an eternal cycle that preserves nature.
At sunset, a dingo wanders in a typical Bush landscape, made of trees, ash, and new growths.
Bio-luminescence (sea sparkle) under the stars. The distinctive blue light is the result of bio-luminescent plankton being agitated by the waves.
Dingo Frost, who has been adopted as a pet by Charlie Jackson-Martin, a local dingo rescuer, stands on a beach called Plantation Point. Dingoes are controversial in Australia, and at the heart of a heated battle between land managers and rescuers/conservationists.
Frost stands as strong winds push sand on a beach of white sands.
A "tree ghost" is a typical sight in the Australian landscape. Where a tree or branch used to stand, a trail of ashes remains after a bushfire.
Doobie recuperates after chasing after - and being kicked by - a free-roaming bull. He is stunned and has lost a chunk of skin on his shoulder. Doobie is likely a dingo mix. He lives as a community dog at a nearby art center.
Odesa, an orphaned dingo pup, is posing for her adoption portrait at the Sydney Fox and Dingo Rescue center. Odesa and her littermates were found next to their mother's dead body by a forestry worker. The mother had been dead for days, likely poisoned.