Michael Torres
Nagula Girradiny 34
Edition 1/3
16 x 20 inch
Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art
$145 AUD
Includes GST & postage within Australia
Bio
Michael Jalaru Torres is an Indigenous fine art photographer and poet, born on November 25, 1976, in Broome, Western Australia. He is a Djugun-Yawuru man with tribal connections to the Gooniyandi/Jabbir Jabbir/Ngarluma peoples. He draws inspiration from the unique landscapes and people of the Kimberley region, which feature prominently in his work.
Michael's photography explores contemporary social and political issues facing Indigenous people, drawing on his own stories and personal history. He creates conceptual and innovative portraiture and abstract landscape photography. Although he is a self-taught photographer, he regularly experiments with different mediums, and he is interested in expanding his photography into installations and motion work, pushing the boundaries of conceptual photography.
His photography has appeared in exhibitions in China, Germany, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and regional Western Australia. He has won several awards, including being a finalist in the Telstra NATISAA Awards in 2023. He has also exhibited in solo exhibitions, such as the WA Museum video creator in 2024, Bingaa - Ballarat International Foto Biennale in 2023, and SCAR III 2021 – Red Earth Arts Festival, Karratha.
Michael has exhibited in several group exhibitions, including 'IN THE RUINS I SEE THE FUTURE'- Incinerator Gallery in 2023, Kakala Tapu - Collaboration + Veisinia Tonga - Blak Dot Gallery in 2021, and Say it with Flowers presented by Kat Clarke - Ballarat International Foto Biennale in 2021. He is also the founder of Blak Lens, a community-made collective of established, emerging, and aspiring Blak photographers and videographers across Australia.
Michael Jalaru Torres' work not only celebrates the unique cultural heritage, experiences, and perspectives of Indigenous Australians, but it also raises awareness of the ongoing struggles and injustices faced by these communities in the present day.
Statement
Nagula Girradiny/Oceans of the Moon uses location-based AR experiences to give voice to significant objects from Yawuru Country such as the Baylor shell and the moon pool. These elements draw on the Djugun dreaming story of the full moon allowing audiences to learn important stories of the Blue Bone man and the Moon man which illustrate how the moon came to be in the sky. Within this creation narrative Torres also weaves in Latin astrology, rooted in ancient Greek and Roman traditions to demonstrate how all cultures have had powerful connections to celestial bodies throughout our existence.
Using immersive technology to embed cultural memory in the landscape, viewers will experience the stories, place and culture of Djugun Country embedded in their own location - a gallery space. Two worlds are overlaid and people in Perth/ Boorloo are drawn into powerful stories of the Djugun dreaming and other cosmological motifs connecting all cultures and people to the sky.
