Photosynthesisers: Women and the lens is an exhibition of photographs and videos by 41 women artists and collectives from Aotearoa and Australia, including fa`afafine¹, queer, and trans women, and those with ancestral ties to Aboriginal, Māori, and diasporic communities. Produced between the 1960s and 2024 by four generations of artists, exhibited works collectively offer cross-cultural and intergenerational perspectives on the social, political, and cultural conditions that impelled their capture.  

Video room schedule: 

10.00am / 2.48pm
Selina Ershadi
b.1986 Tehran
Amator  2019
single-channel HD video, colour, sound
Sound Editor: Frances Libeau

10.35am / 3.23pm        
Aliyah Winter
b.1992 Kirikiriroa Hamilton
hardening  2017
single-channel HD video, black and white, silent
Camera: Laura Duffy

10.39am / 3.27pm        
Barbara Cleveland
Collective formed 2007 in Gadigal Nura Sydney
Work in Progress: Dawn to Dusk  2010
single-channel HD video, colour, sound
Concept and Direction: Diana Baker Smith, Frances Barrett, Kate Blackmore, Kelly Doley
Video Editing: Kate Blackmore
Sound: Frederick Rodrigues

Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, purchased with the assistance of Dr Edward Jackson AM and Mrs Cynthia Jackson AM, 2005

10.48am / 3.36pm        
Kate Mitchell
b.1982 Gadigal Nura Sydney
Hypnotised Into Being  2016
single-channel HD video, colour, silent
Camera and Editing: Dominic Kirkwood
Stills: Danielle Zorbas

11.06am / 3.54pm        
Burchill McCamley
Janet Burchill b.1955 Naarm Melbourne, Jennifer McCamley b.1957 Meanjin Brisbane
Bathgirls ‘84  1984
Super 8 film transferred to single-channel digital video, colour, sound

11.18am / 4.06pm        
Lisa Reihana
b.1964 Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngai Tūteauru, Ngāi Tūpoto
Wog Features  1988–1990
16mm film transferred to single-channel digital video, colour, sound
Performers: Sian Bourhill, Jude Folkard, Selina Forsythe, Janina Gray, Keng Lim, George Reihana, Lisa Reihana

Director: Lisa Reihana 

Camera: Greg Hoy, Lisa Reihana, Ashley Turner

Film Editor: Adrian Ward
Video Editor: William Roberts

Sound Design: Angus McNaughton

Rhythms: George Hubbard

Sound Mixers: Martin Williams, Angus McNaughton

Master Mix: Jon Cooper

11.26am / 4.14pm        
Angelica Mesiti
b.1976 Gadigal Nura Sydney
Rapture (silent anthem)  2009
single-channel HD video, colour, silent

11.36am / 4.24pm        
Juliet Carpenter
b.1990 Waipukurau
summer of supine  2015
single-channel HD video, colour, sound
Starring Greta Gregory

11.43am          
Bridget Reweti
b.1985 Te Puke, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi
Tauutuutu  2016
single-channel HD video, colour, sound
3D Portrait: In exchange with Jackson Polys, text by Ane Tonga 
Sorry: In exchange with Salote Tawale, text by Matariki Wiliams
Nipple Stretches: In exchange with Angela Loft, text by Rachel O’Neill
Hotline Bling: In exchange with Suzanne Kite, text by Intergalactic Māori

11.56am          
Marie Shannon
b.1960 Whakatū Nelson
Car Stories  2018
single-channel HD video, colour, sound

12.11pm          
Alana Hunt
b.1984 Gadigal Nura Sydney
Surveilling a Crime Scene  2023
Super 8 film transferred to digital video, colour, sound
Sound: Anna John

12.33pm          
Fiona Amundsen
b.1973 Taranaki
Blowing in the Wind  2024
single-channel HD video, colour, sound

12.46pm          
Joanna Margaret Paul
b.1945 Kirikiriroa Hamilton d.2003 Rotorua
Body/House  1975
8mm film transferred to single-channel digital video, colour, silent
Courtesy of CIRCUIT

12.57pm          
Lauren Brincat
b.1980 Gadigal Nura Sydney
Mexican Standoff  2012
two-channel HD video, colour, sound, reauthored for single-channel projection
Sound: Bree van Reyk
Cinematographer: Rafael Ortega
Special thanks: Aline Hernandez and Nayeli Garcia

1.06pm            
Sriwhana Spong
b.1979 Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
The painter-tailor  2019
16mm film transferred to digital video, colour, sound
Sound composition and design: Owen Pratt
Camera: Angendari, Wungsu Pinatih, Gusmank, Alaska, Sriwhana Spong

1.38pm            
James Barth
b.1993 Naarm Melbourne
Stonemilker  2024
single-channel HD video, black and white, sound

1.44pm            
Helen Grace
b.1949 Gunditjmara Country Warrnambool
Living Arrangements  2019
single-channel 4K video, black and white, colour, sound

1.54pm            
Salote Tawale
b.1976 Suva
With Love From Here  2021
single-channel 4K video, colour, sound
Camera: Samia Sayed
Sound: Hayley Forward
Food prep assistant: Noica Omera
Narration recorded at Sydney College for the Arts, University of Sydney

1.57pm            
Diana Baker Smith & Verónica Tello
Diana Baker Smith b.1981 Gadigal Nura Sydney, Verónica Tello b.1981 Santiago
Opening Night (The Order of Arrangements)  2020
single-channel HD video, colour, sound
Concept and Direction: Diana Baker Smith and Verónica Tello
Video Editing: Diana Baker Smith
Music Composition: Bree van Reyk
Text Design: Ella Sutherland
Videography: Sam Cooper
Sound Mix: Bob Scott
Colourist: Julien Chichignoud

2.15pm            
The Kingpins
Collective formed 2000 in Gadigal Nura Sydney
Welcome to the Jingle  2003
multi-channel digital video, colour, sound, reauthored for single-channel projection Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, purchased with the assistance of Dr Edward Jackson AM and Mrs Cynthia Jackson AM, 2005

2.22pm            
Andrea Illés
glory6  2024
single-channel HD video, colour, sound

2.28pm            
Ngahuia Harrison
b.1988 Whangārei, Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pukenga
Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora a mua  2022
single-channel HD video, colour, sound

2.36pm  
Christine Webster
b.1958 Pukekohe
Divination (xvi) (Bed dance)  2015/2022
single-channel HD video, colour, sound
Sound: Violinist Joseph Szigeti playing Johann Sebastian Bach, Sonata No. 1 G minor, 1946 

Presented in association with Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival 2025.