Onespace is thrilled to announce that Sonja Carmichael and Elisa Jane Carmichael are included in ‘On Country: Photography from Australia’, the first-ever exhibition to focus on Australia at the Rencontres d’Arles, France 2025 – the world’s longest running photo festival.
‘On Country: Photography from Australia’ is a landmark exhibition highlighting diverse photographic practice in Australia through the work of 17 Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists and collectives exploring aspects of being ‘on Country’ – a term embodied by First Peoples in Australia to describe the lands, waterways, seas and cosmos to which they are connected.
As saltwater people, the Carmichaels integrate elements of their ancestral land into their work’s physical form. They collect plants and shells, weave natural fibres from the land into intricate patterns, and create cyanotypes that honour the stories and memories of their Ancestors, which continue to live in the trickling waters that flow through Quandamooka Country. This process serves as a photographic dialogue between the artists, their Ancestors, and the land itself.
Exhibiting Artists:
Adam Ferguson
Atong Atem
Brenda L Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra)
Elisa Jane Carmichael & Sonja Carmichael (Ngugi/Quandamooka)
J Davies
James Tylor (Kaurna)
Lisa Sorgini
Liss Fenwick
Maree Clarke (Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung)
Michael Cook (Bidjara)
Ricky Maynard (Pakana)
Robert Fielding (Yankunytjatjara/Western Arrernte peoples)
Tace Stevens (Noongar/Spinifex)
The Huxleys: Will Huxley & Garrett Huxley (Gumbaynggirr/Yorta Yorta)
Tony Albert (Kuku Yalanji) & David Charles Collins
wani toaishara
Ying Ang
The exhibition is co-produced by the Rencontres d’Arles and PHOTO Australia and on display 7 July – 5 October 2025.
Curated by PHOTO Australia Founder/Artistic Director Elias Redstone, Guest Curator Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta), and PHOTO Australia Curators Pippa Milne and Brendan McCleary.
Supported by the Australian Government through the International Cultural Diplomacy Arts Fund and the Bowness Family Foundation. Additional support from the Australian Embassy in France.
#PHOTOAustralia #RencontresArles #Photography
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