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 exhibited at the gallery of Melbourne’s Library at The Docks from March 15 - April 1, 2023. Conceived as part of a broader, personal process of coming-to-terms-with circumstances involving a loss, the exhibition aimed to describe the solace and inspiration gleaned from long and repeated walks along the coast; the process leading the photographer to sense a correlation between salt and healing.

Recalling lessons imparted by mentor and Larrakia man Robert E. Lewis, the photographer watched the crystal-clear water of the Timor Sea, embracing the challenge posed by the quote “watch the water long enough and you’ll see a fish jump…” Acting upon a subsequently perceived, artistic need to look inward, he began photographing the water and surrounding landscape. In this context, salt accrued additional meaning, serving as an acknowledgement of the Larrakia, the traditional owners of the Greater Darwin Region (known colloquially as the salt water people).

Opening with speeches by artist Pamela Kleemann-Passi and Robert E. Lewis, the Salt Frames exhibition inspired a review by Doug Spowart and Victoria Cooper, a project feature by PhotoCollective, and an extended article detailing the depth of the photographer’s connection to this landscape in Photo Review (Issue 97, Sep-Nov, 2023). A select number of prints from the exhibition remain available for purchase. Enquires can be made via email.