An Uncertain Grasp

Background: This research explores transcultural identities and feminist narratives in contemporary Australia through an applied photographic self‑portraiture and phenomenological practice. Engaging with corporeal feminist photographic works from the 1960s to the present—including Francesca Woodman, Valie Export, Cindy Sherman and Tarrah Krajnak—it situates the project within the history of visual art associated with what Fischer-Lichte terms the “performative turn”, which reconceives artworks as events (2008, 23). The project also interrogates settler‑colonialism and women’s domestic experiences in relation to the Australian bush landscape, using the house as a key site for identity and belonging. In doing so, it converses with Australian women writers such as Judith Wright, Gwen Harwood and Barbara Baynton, whose texts critically frame domesticity, place and power. Contribution: The project comprises a series of six large archival photographs, printed on aluminium, and a single‑channel HD video work, presented as a solo exhibition at Stockroom Kyneton. Exhibiting the work in a regional context proximate to its originating site allowed the images and video to resonate directly with local histories and the ongoing visibility of colonising domestic spaces. The photographs extend Johnson’s continuing investigations into migration, transcultural identities and feminist narratives in contemporary Australia, offering a visually and conceptually layered contribution to this discourse. Significance: The inaugural exhibition at Stockroom Gallery, Kyneton (12 October – 17 November 2024) was promoted within the local community (Kyneton Community News, Art Guide listing) and featured in a 3RRR FM Smart Arts interview with host Richard Watts. One work, “Delightful Dissidence”, was selected as a finalist in the 2025 Galah Regional Photography Award, chosen as one of 42 images by 37 photographers from over 1100 entries, and received a Highly Commended as part of the winning set of images. The award exhibition was shown at New England Regional Art Museum (11 April – 8 June 2025) and subsequently toured to Bathurst Regional Art Gallery (9 September – 9 November 2025), significantly extending the reach and impact of the research.