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From the blog

Meet the dogs from the Pilbara region

Mon, June 25, 2012
by Wendy Wood
  • Events
  • Exhibitions
  • Marnti warajanga

In this blog you will meet dogs from the Pilbara region of northern Western Australia, who have worked closely with their communities. See how they bear witness to momentous historical movements and reflect on the ongoing work for social and political change at a community and national level.

A bit dramatic? Indeed, but this is tongue-in-cheek, as anyone closely associated with this project will recognise that I have plagiarised this text from our standard preamble promotional text for this exhibition.

This blog is a visual journey through the project with the ever-present camp dog. Anyone who has ever visited or worked in a remote community will know that camp dogs are an essential element. Often unassuming, a bit cheeky at times, but always in the background—or under foot which was the case at the Jigalong BBQ with about seven dogs wishing we would throw them a sausage or two.

Enjoy these pictures, documenting the project from the perspective of the self-determined camp dog.

Warralong dog gets his own portrait. Photo Tobias Titz

Warralong dog gets his own portrait. Photo Tobias Titz

  • Warralong dog. Photo Tobias Titz
  • Warralong dog joins the tour with the seniors. Photo Tobias Titz
  • A dog hopes for a sausage from me or Tobias at the event in Warralong. Photo Greg Lissaman
  • A dog listening to the music from under the chair at the Warralong community event. Photo Tobias Titz
  • Yandeyarra dogs come to experience the exhibition. Photo Tobias Titz
  • Family dog at Yandeyarra. Photo Tobias Titz
  • Dog snoozing under the table at the Jigalong community event. Photo Tobias Titz
  • Dogs hang out at the Jigalong community event. Photo Tobias Titz
  • Dogs at the Jigalong community event. Photo Tobias Titz
  • Jigalong dog. Photo Tobias Titz
  • Dr Marika Lee and colleagues run a desexing clinic in Jigalong.  Over two days these vets de-sexed about 75 dogs. Photo Wendy Wood
  • Dr Stephen Cutter working in his remote operating theatre at Jigalong. Photo Wendy Wood
  • Dr Marika Lee working in her makeshift operating theatre, above the BBQ, at Jigalong. Photo Wendy Wood
  • Recently de-sexed patients in Jigalong recovering from the anaesthetic.  The doctors asked me to point out that these dogs were not dead, despite their appearance. Photo Wendy Wood
  • The vets viewing the exhibition in Jigalong. Photo Tobias Titz
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Wendy has spent the last 17 years in Darwin but returned to her home town of Canberra to join the Museum of Australian Democracy team to tour the exhibition Marnti warajanga – a walk together. Wendy was seconded from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin, where she works with a broad range of organisations, South East Asian and Indigenous communities, artists and national cultural institutions in realising exhibitions and public programs.

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