Renowned Shepparton photographer Liz Arcus spent 18 months from 2019 going into churches, mosques, temples and people's homes around Shepparton to capture the different ways people express their faith or their personal reflections.
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As a community hub leader at Shepparton's English Language Centre, Ms Arcus said she was often invited into the homes of people from different cultures.
“Photographing their faith practice is something I've wanted to do for years. I like to photograph as a fly-on-the-wall — I don't like to be invasive,” she said.
“It's important for me to be trusted. These are people who know me and have invited me in to their intimate space so I had to be as respectful as I could.”
Ms Arcus also spent time with people of no particular faith.
“Some people like to just pause for a moment or two — maybe in nature, and that's fine too,” she said.
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Ms Arcus hoped her collection of photos and interviews would help bring greater understanding between people.
“We can all learn from one another. I'd love as many people as possible to come and see the exhibition. Hopefully it will open up conversations,” she said.
The exhibition is funded through the Victorian Government's Multicultural Affairs portfolio and supported by Shepparton Interfaith Network.
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Network chief executive Chris Parnell said people had talked to him for many years about a need to bring awareness of different religious practices.
“When Liz came up with this project, it brought all this together,” he said.
“This helps build open-mindedness. There are still entrenched attitudes among us, but this brings awareness and opens up new insights.”
The Prayer and Reflection exhibition will be shown at St Brendan's Church hall, 121 Knight St, Shepparton on a date to be determined once current COVID-19 restrictions have eased.
Mr Parnell said it was also hoped to stage the exhibition in Wangaratta and Benalla.
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