Glen Namundja

Gunbalanya, Western Arnhem Land.

 

Glen is a recognised artist who paints in ochre on bark and canvas and I met him at Injalak Arts ( injalak.com/ ). His work is in the traditional style of the area, so think X-ray outlines, cross hatching (rarrk), mimi figures and local fauna (crocodiles, turtles) rather than, say, the dot abstract style of Central Australia. He was working on a crocodile figure on a large canvas and with permission I sat down on the floor opposite him and asked him about the work, and took some photos of him working. He also posed for this portrait and leaned forwards slightly and looked into the lens. It was a fiercely sunny day but he was working under a cool enclosed verandah so the light is diffused. I used spot metering to get a reading from his skin, and placed it about half a stop under centre on the meter in manual mode.

Done