Brenda L. Croft

Naabami (thou shall/will see): Barangaroo (army of me) 2019–22 

Linda II (Wiradjuri)  
Tristan (Dharawal/Yuin)  
Rayma I (Wiradjuri)  
Marlene (Guguyelandji/Woppaburra)
Nessa Longbottom (Dharawal) 
Melinda (Dharawal)
Matilda II (Ngambri)
Noeleen II (Dharawal)
Leah I (Ngambri/Ngunnawal)
Thea II (Arrernte/Kalkadoon)
Emily II (Kalari/Wiradjuri)
Lille II (Arrernte/Bundjalung/Kalkatungu)
Ann II (Wiradjuri)
Tjanara II (Bundjalung/Wiradjuri)
Suz II (Wiradjuri)

Anne (Dharawal/Yuin)
Nessa Ingrey (Dharawal/Dunghutti)
Lola (Dharawal)
Lowana (Dharawal/Dunghutti)
Ruby I (Dharawal/Wiradjuri)
Wendy (Walbunja/Djirringanj/Yuin)
Miah I (Gamilaroi/Dunghutti/Wirrayarray)
Lauren (Wiradjuri)
Cathy I (Gamilaraay/Anaiwan)
Brenda L II (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra)
Hetti I (Arrernte/Kalkadoon)
Jade I (Samsep/Peiudu Clans of Erub Meriam Mir)
Mary I (Gamilaroi/Yuin)
Bernadette I (Willah/Tubba Gah clan/Wiradjuri)
Jody (Wiradjuri)

Leanne I (Dharug)
Kirsty (Dharawal)
Mila (Dharawal/Dunghutti)
Bridgette (Dharawal/Dunghutti)
Maeve II (Ngiyampaa)
Harmony I (Biripi/Dharawal/Dunghutti/Wiradjuri)
Bronwyn I (Wiradjuri)
Maliyah (Arrernte/Dunghutti/Gamilaroi/Gurindji/Malngin/Pertame/Worimi)
Maddie I (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra)
Ali I (Biripi)
Sasha (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra)
Rene (Dharawal)
Phillipa II (Wakka Wakka/Mulinjali)
Kyra II (Malera/Bandjalan/Mitakoodi)
Eva I (Wakka Wakka/Mulinjali)  

inkjet prints from original tintypes  
Courtesy the artist 

Introduction

Brenda L Croft’s Naabami (thou shall/will see): Barangaroo (army of me) is a series of photographs of First Nations women and girls with diverse cultural affiliations, who all have long-standing associations to Sydney and Canberra.

The Ancestral Matriarchal Guide for this series is Barangaroo (c1750–91), the Cammeraygal woman and second wife of Wangal man, Woollarawarre Bennelong, whose name is memorialised by Bennelong Point – the site of the Sydney Opera House.

Renowned for her mastery as a fisherwoman and her staunch, non-negotiable attitude towards the early colonisers, Barangaroo is less well known. Her people were custodians of Car-rang-gel/North Head and Kai'ymay/Manly, and today a site of reclaimed land on the southern shores of Sydney Harbour, bordering Warrane/Warrang land, has been named after her.

Photographed using a wet plate collodion process, originally used by colonial ethnographic photographers, Croft’s burgeoning army conveys the potency and fortitude of Australian First Nations women. She states:

I/we come from t/here – if not through immediate cultural ties, then through more than two centuries of colonisation, displacement, erasure, and wilful cultural amnesia. Don’t mess with me/us. I am/we are a force to be reckoned with. I am/we are not a place name for reclaimed, reshaped land; an obscenely exclusive playground for the wealthy to debase my/her name. Ignore me/us at your own peril. Naabami (thou shall/will see): Barangaroo (army of me). 

Inquiry questions

  1. Look at these photographs, what do you see?
  2. In the title, Croft uses the phrase ‘army of me’. Consider her choice of the word ‘army’. Why did Croft choose to present 45 portraits?
  3. What is the significance of the chosen subjects?
  4. Research the practice of wet plate photography.  

Creative learning activity

Materials

  • digital camera
  • printer
  • acetate (clear sheet plastic)
  • Sun-sensitive photography paper such as Nature Print Paper

Process

  1. Using your digital camera, create a photographic portrait of someone that expresses particular emotion. Consider the emotion you wish to portray and how you will direct your subject to convey this. Consider the composition, including the background and the power of the gaze. 
  2. Experiment with the photographic process to achieve different effects. Turning the image into a negative can produce interesting results. You can do this digitally in Photoshop or other photo editing software.
  3. Print out your negative photograph onto acetate.
  4. Carefully tape the acetate portrait on top of the sun-sensitive paper, being careful not to expose the paper to light.
  5. Take the artwork outside into a bright sunlit location and leave for about 2 minutes, according to the instructions on the paper.
  6. Protect your print from the sun and soak the paper in water to set the image.
  7. Dry flat. When dry, flatten under a heavy book.
  8. After the print has dried, consider how you will display the portraits. 

Extension

  • Write five words to describe the emotion of your subject/friend.
  • How does emotion play a role in your portrait in telling a story about your subject/friend.

Reflection

  • Discuss the relationship between the photographer and the subject. How can this relationship affect the outcome?  
  • Why is the gaze so important in Croft’s portraits?  
  • Consider the use of gender in this artwork.