A new exhibition brings together a remarkable collection of previously unseen photographs taken at Aboriginal strike camps across the Pilbara during the 1950s and 1960s.
Strike Camps: The Photographs of John Wilson at Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery documents a powerful history of Aboriginal autonomy, economic independence and political organisation at a time when Aboriginal people remained excluded from Australia’s political system.
In 1946, around 800 Aboriginal people walked off pastoral stations across the Pilbara to protest against poor working conditions and exploitation.
Refusing to return, they established independent communities and sustained themselves through mining, pearl shell farming and pastoral enterprises.
The transition of Aboriginal workers to operating their own mining ventures took place decades before the resources boom, land rights movement, Native Title legislation and the policy era of self-determination.
Both historically significant and visually striking, Wilson’s photographs provide a rare record of one of Australia’s most radical political movements.
It is an important chapter in the history of Australian photography that reveals a largely forgotten story of resilience, industry and self-determination.
Curated by Wanarn Martu woman Barbara Hale, Nyamal Elder Doris Eaton, Mangala Elder Bruce Thomas, Sharon Coppin, Ursula Wilson, Darren Jorgensen, Faraday Boydell, Tim Acker and Vladimir Todorovic, the exhibition presents Wilson’s photographs alongside new contemporary animations created in collaboration with First Nations members of the curatorium.
The exhibition is presented at LWAG by Nomads Charitable and Educational Foundation, with support from Lotterywest, Spinifex Trust, the School of Design at The University of Western Australia and Berndt Museum with John Wilson’s work exhibited with the permission of his family.
The exhibition opens on Thursday 3 September from 6pm to 8pm and runs until December 5. For more information and to register for the launch event, visit the gallery website.
The gallery is open Tuesdays to Saturdays between 11am and 4pm (free admission). Please note, the gallery will temporarily close from September 22 until October 16 and will reopen on October 17.
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are advised that this exhibition contains the names and images of people who have died.