The salt frames emerge through personal connection; the relationships drawing the photographer back to the Nightcliff foreshore in Darwin each year.

The first iteration of this collection (gallery above) developed as part of a broader, personal process of coming-to-terms-with circumstances involving a loss. But the invigoration arising from the exercise (long and repeated bouts of walking) led the photographer to see a correlation between salt and healing.

Ruminating alongside the crystal-clear water of the Timor Sea, he recalled lessons imparted by mentor and Larrakia man, Robert E. Lewis. Understanding the quote above to relate less to jumping fish, than a perceived, artistic need to look inward, he felt the stirrings of inspiration; salt accruing additional meaning in this context, serving as an acknowledgement of the Larrakia, the traditional owners of the Greater Darwin Region, known colloquially as the salt water people.

From March 15, until April 1, 2023, the first Salt Frames collection exhibited at the gallery of Melbourne’s Library at The Docks. The exhibition opening was reviewed by Doug Spowart and Victoria Cooper. The work undertaken on an extended collection prompted a project feature by PhotoCollective, and an inspiration article from Photo Review (Issue 97, Sep-Nov, 2023). A small number of prints from the exhibition remain available for purchase. Enquires can be made via email.

The Timor Sea, from the Nightcliff Foreshore. Darwin, NT 2016.