Guma

Art Screen, Alfred Deakin Place, Ballarat. Guma means blood in the Budjiti language, as well as being the title of Budjiti photographer Leicolhn McKellar’s visual exploration of contemporary pan- Aboriginal identity. Her photo series and video challenge reductive visual tropes. Set in urban Darwin, Larrakia Country, Guma captures the everyday lives of First Nations families, celebrating their strength, connection, and presence in spaces often excluded from mainstream representations. Through collaborative portraiture and urban landscape elements, the work highlights the deep ties between place and identity, confronting colonial constructs that question the authenticity of urban Aboriginality. Guma reclaims the visual narrative, presenting First Nations peoples as they are: multifaceted, contemporary, and unbound by stereotype. Part of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale 23 August—19 October.