blak lives matter

Artist: Taryn Little

Series theme: My Generation

Title: Blak lives matter

Year: 2020

Media: Photograph

My chosen theme for this task is My Generation, I chose this theme because it has great significance in relation to the subjects of my portraits. The sitters in my portraits are individuals coming together to rally and protest for the Blak Lives Matter movement. My Generation relates to this theme because the fight for these human rights has now been passed onto my generation and it is our turn to use our voices to fight for a better world for all. To convey this theme I have chosen to use people of different generations, including the young and adults, to portray how this human rights issue has affected past, present and future generations. I also used images with signs and symbols such as the Aboriginal flag, to demonstrate the cultural connection this issue has to Australia.

I named my series Blak Lives Matter because black is a term that was historically used to imply something negative and dis-empowering for people of colour. The term Black was used to degrade the cultural and racial origin of an individual or community. However, the word Blak is an expression of taking back power and control within a society that doesn't encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. As an Aboriginal person, I used this word to give strength to my portraits, as I find this word empowering and it connects me to culture, country and my people. These images hold significant meaning to me as I have personally witnessed and have been a victim of racism in this country, I have seen many of my relatives be judged and disadvantaged on the basis of their Aboriginality and I wanted to show this struggle for equality in my images. I chose to edit my pictures in this way, semi-coloured and semi-black and white to really highlight the focal point of the images, to focus on moments of calmness in situations of chaos.