The Central Queensland Project

Research Background: The Central Queensland Project is a photographic exploration of a largely invisible, but economically powerful region. This project investigates the lives, values and experiences of Central Queenslanders to capture an important period of transition and reflect on its broader relevance in a globalized world by asking if the change the region is undergoing might be an ideological one? Research Contribution: Blending visual ethnography and documentary practice, this qualitative study creates a discursive space between the researchers, subjects and audience, wherein contentious, difficult to access and historically significant issues affecting the region as a result of the mining boom (such as social impacts of economic transition and impacts of neoliberalism on communities) are examined. Research Significance: The project was exhibited at the Brisbane Powerhouse (audience of 30,000) and Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery with a scholarly review published in The Queensland Review (Volume 20, Issue 02, pp 238-240). A selection of works were published by Q Weekend Magazine (20 July 2013, circulation 220,000) and have been selected for national awards including The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award (acquired by the Gold Coast Art Gallery), the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize (semi-finalist), the Contemporary Landscapes in Photography award and the 2014 National Portrait Prize. The project has been featured on a number of international online platforms and included in a presentation of contemporary Australian-New Zealand-Pacific Islands photography at the Obscura Photo Festival in Malaysia. It is anticipated that the exhibition will be in the 2014 Head On Photography Festival and acquired by the State Library of Queensland.