Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Portraits of Country: Embodied Place in Nici Cumpston’s Landscape Photography72 views
Author
Dowling, Sarah, Art, University of Virginia
Advisors
Fordham, Douglas, Art History - Art Department, University of Virginia
Skerritt, Henry, Art History - Art Department, University of Virginia
Abstract
Nici Cumpston OAM (1963-present) is a Barkandji artist and curator of Afghan, Irish, and English descent whose photographic practice centers around large-scale, hand-colored photographs of Barkandji Country in western New South Wales, Australia. In her work, Cumpston recalibrates the camera lens as a tool for projecting relational presence, crafting landscape portraits that capture the enduring character and resilience of Barkandji Country. Such images emerge as temporally and ontologically comprehensive landscapes that draw viewers into a shared relational field in which Country looks back and responsibilities emerge through connection rather than possession. In this thesis, I explore what it means to read landscape as embodied, asking how Cumpston’s emplaced seeing and image-making might open new pathways beyond dialectics of decolonization towards those of (re)indigenization.
Degree
BA (Bachelor of Arts)
Keywords
Art History Distinguished Majors Program; Nici Cumpston OAM; Aboriginal Australian Art; Indigenous Australian Art; Fine Art Photography
Notes
Nici Cumpston OAM (1963-present) is a Barkandji artist and curator of Afghan, Irish, and English descent whose photographic practice centers around large-scale, hand-colored photographs of Barkandji Country in western New South Wales, Australia. In her work, Cumpston recalibrates the camera lens as a tool for projecting relational presence, crafting landscape portraits that capture the enduring character and resilience of Barkandji Country. Such images emerge as temporally and ontologically comprehensive landscapes that draw viewers into a shared relational field in which Country looks back and responsibilities emerge through connection rather than possession. In this thesis, I explore what it means to read landscape as embodied, asking how Cumpston’s emplaced seeing and image-making might open new pathways beyond dialectics of decolonization towards those of (re)indigenization.
Language
English
Rights
All rights reserved by the author (no additional license for public reuse)
Dowling, Sarah. Portraits of Country: Embodied Place in Nici Cumpston’s Landscape Photography. University of Virginia, Art, BA (Bachelor of Arts), 2026-05-14, https://doi.org/10.18130/14he-1t60.
