Buzz Gardiner

Let’s add some Melanesian playfulness into the archive. Reach out and also share with any Melanesians in Aus that might be interested. Groups very welcome too

Portrait of Siemma Kent with her daughters and interview audio of childhood memories during the Solomon Islands ethnic tensions. Part of the ‘Frayed Threads Still Bind’ project commissioned by the Australian War Memorial

Portrait of Milika Nation with camouflage netting silhouette and interview audio of childhood memories during the Solomon Islands ethnic tensions. Part of the ‘Frayed Threads Still Bind’ project commissioned by the Australian War Memorial

Portrait of David Miller and interview audio of childhood memories during the Solomon Islands ethnic tensions. Part of the ‘Frayed Threads Still Bind’ project commissioned by the Australian War Memorial

Frayed Threads Still Bind now up at the Australian War Memorial new Anzac Hall peacekeeping gallery. Still shook by the scale of this opportunity and so honoured by it. Shoutout @milika_jean @daveeemiller @siemmakent and @uma.brennan for being part of the project because without you nothing gets made. This is true for all my work. These opportunities only happen because of the community. Also many thanks to awm curators Emma White and Kate Dethridge for the commission and support throughout. Dream commission made better by having wantoks to do it with

Some play for the timeline

During covid lockdowns, I scanned my grandmother’s negatives. There were two boxes of slide film in her secret stash, shot much later than the rest, revealing my grandparents’ first and only overseas trip together, a cruise around the Pacific Islands in the late 70s. @buzzgards and I had already been talking about how the Pacific Islands have been / are photographed, these pics slotted neatly into our chats about r’ships between tourists & locals, how each group meets, treats & misunderstands the other. Buzz grew up in Port Vila and has memories of ships bringing thousands of tourists to town for the day — the vanilla coke running out being peak teen frustration — so he had a dig around his Mum’s own photographs & found images of her life in the Solomon Islands. Side by side, the two archives seemed to reflect two halves of a story. Our conversations, and the archives themselves, inspired the beginning of ‘Getting There is Half The Fun’ - a collaborative multi-chapter project exploring tourism in the Pacific Islands, the points of connection and performance between tourists and locals. We plan to use the archives themselves, but mostly we will make new work responding to the themes found when studying the pictures with guidance from @natasha.christia via her workshop ‘Mal de Archivo’. We had planned to be in Vila during the peak period of ship visits, however the earthquake in mid-Dec has caused so much damage to the port and CBD that ships have been diverting to Mystery Island, in the very south of Vanuatu. The change forced us to think differently and we’re excited by the other avenues we’ve found this past week. * More posts and research to come, and hopefully some more exhibition plans on the horizon (@ccp_australia 😢). *Our trip was supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund, a partnership between @artsqueensland and @cityofgoldcoast to support local arts and culture. Big thanks!

I am happy to be supporting CCP this year in their annual fundraising campaign. Sadly CCP no longer receives funding from local, state or federal government and this means their mission to celebrate and support photography, and photographers at all levels, has just become all the more difficult. You can buy a limited edition print of my work from now until 28th July, via the CCP website or link in my bio. All the funds raised go directly to supporting exhibitions, events, artists fees, production costs, and future planning. Go to .au or @ccp_australia for more details and to buy the photographs. @ccp_australia Printing by @peter_hatzipavlis Paper supplied by @hahnemuehle_imaging & @spicersaus

Busy week at the Gizo woodshop

This is a portrait of home.

‘Walking through the Darkness’ in @_artshub The Exhibition at @ccp_australia ends on the 10th of September - so soon. Go check it out if you haven’t already.

From the series ‘Banyan Coast’. The Banyan tree has a lot of cultural significance in Vanuatu. The story of the origin of ‘land diving’ - which inspired modern bungee - takes place in a Banyan tree. It’s a story of a wife escaping an abusive husband - a story of resilience. Inside the Banyan, as well as being a shelter during cyclones, is where spirits reside.