Photographer Katrina Starmer captured the scene of a friend holding her child while their families were camping and dirt biking in Far North Queensland.
Nature is a salve for the close-knit family friends, who work in the frenetic world of rural medicine and emergency services.
“When you have lived experiences of trauma ... it’s really important to have a safe place, a happy place to escape to and refresh,” said Katrina, who works for the Royal Flying Doctor Service out of Cairns.
“Camping out bush, water-skiing, motorbike riding is my panacea.
“Another thing for me is being with my kids and the warmth of their hugs ... you reflect on life and it’s just so deep and you’re grateful for every moment.”
The image of maternal love, called Dirt Bike Dreaming, is one of 42 finalists in Galah magazine’s Regional Photography Prize.
The $27,000 biennial competition is the richest rural photography prize, revealing the depth and diversity of life outside Australia’s cities.
Finalists have captured everything from blue-singleted shearers lying flat on their backs during smoko in South Australia, to a baptism for LGBTQIA+ people in a NSW river and a dazzling group of Cape York girls headed to a NAIDOC Week ball.
“Regional Australia is more than just a stereotypical farmer with a piece of straw hanging out of his mouth,” Galah Press founder Annabelle Hickson said.
“This is what my experience of living out here has been and to see it reflected so beautifully ... I am moved by the content and quality.”
The finalists’ exhibition captures country life in a year of growth and productivity, while also confronting challenges like climate disasters and social inequity.
Women are front and centre both as photographers and subjects, including a daughter’s portrait of her mother in the final stages of life.
“There are the historical stereotypes of the bush, like the Drover’s Wife, and even she is referred to as the wife,” Annabelle said.
“Women have always been such an important part of the bush but maybe an unseen part.
“If this exhibition is anything to go by, times have changed.”
In its second year, the prize has attracted judges including celebrated portrait photographer Hugh Stewart and freelancer Adam Ferguson, known for his work covering conflicts and climate change.
The involvement of prominent artists and organisations, including Armidale’s New England Regional Art Museum as host of the exhibition, speaks volumes.
“Historically, there’s been a lot of funding to bring amazing cultural and art experiences from the city out to the bush, which is great,” Annabelle said.
“But if you only have that, you’re assuming the very best art is made in the cities. I would like to question that and I think this exhibition questions that.”
Katrina hopes the prize helps show the paradoxes of life and people in the bush.
“Together we make up this big, beautiful mosaic of humanity,” she said.
The exhibition at Armidale’s New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) runs until June 8.
– with AAP
