What Makes A Place A Home

This series is a photographic exploration of the remote town of Metung as well as the surrounding coastal region. By revisiting places I explored as a child the series explores my relationship to country as a white non-indigenous person and how place can influence the formation of one's identity. Situated off the main highway, with nothing but the Gippsland Lakes and farmlands surrounding it, this tiny town is often overlooked and sometimes forgotten. This series looks to re-inspire and reconnect one to their roots as well as intimately explore the relationships between connection to land, childhood nostalgia, solitude and belonging. By presenting this series in book form I hope to tell a piece of my story as well as contribute to the ongoing recording of Metung’s history. I pay my respects to the Gunai/Kurnai people and traditional custodians of the land on which this project is undertaken, and I acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. I recognise as well as admire their continuing connection to earth, spirit, waters and culture and I hope to honour these complexities in juxtaposition with the beauty I find and the fond memories I have formed with this small town throughout my life.

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