Approaching Yamaji Country in Photography and Film: Impact of Encounter

Curators

School of Global Affairs, King's College

Artists

Sonal Kantaria

Approaching Yamaji Country in Photography and Film: Impact of Encounter culminates film and photography work made in collaboration with Elders on Yamaji Country from 2013-2021. The works speak to familial narratives, stories of the landscape and colonial policies that have shaped contemporary Australia.


Sonal Kantaria is a British-Indian visual artist whose work explores themes of movement, settlement, representation and cultural identity.

In works such as in her collaborative film work After the Crows Flies (2016), Kantaria explores the aftermath and ongoing effects of colonisation on indigenous populations in Western Australia. Other notable works have focused on the protection of women’s rights and gender-based violence, such as Naseeb: Trafficked (2010), portraying young Indian and Bangladeshi women caught in a web of human trafficking and prostitution

Kantaria recently completed her PhD in Film Studies at Kings College, London. She has exhibited internationally at the Magenta Foundation, Delhi Photo Festival, Perth Centre for Photography, Ikon Gallery and Whitechapel Gallery. Her films were showcased in the BAFTA-recognised Aesthetica Film Festival and the London International Short Film Festival. Her works are held in collections including the Wesfarmers Art Collection, Australia and the UK Parliament Art Collection.