Seeing Saltwater Country
Sally Mayman and Dale Kentwell
Fremantle Press
Painter Dale Kentwell and photographer Sally Mayman collaborated with Indigenous people and communities of the Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley region of north western Australia to relay traditional knowledge and connection to country. Styled in an almost year-book fashion with photos, paintings and quotes we gain contemporary insight into people’s feelings about home and place and are offered the beginnings of an education of Bardi and Jawa names for flora and fauna. As Kentwell describes the project encourages us to “heed traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge” for continuity, understanding and to guard against threats to wellbeing, such as gas extraction. The royalties the artists make from this title will be directed back to the communities for further arts initiatives.
