In conversation with Tobias Titz - Photographer

Join us for an intimate (Zoom) chat on our very big screen with Tobias Titz. He will share images and discuss his art practice and extensive experience of collaborations with Ikuntji Artists and others. There will also be Q&A. 

Refreshments will be served and the conversation will begin at 6 pm (sharp).

Tobias Titz

Tobias Titz is an acclaimed award-winning photographer based in Melbourne, Australia. Tobias studied at the Staatliche Fachakademie für Photodesign, Munich. His work has been exhibited in the USA, UK, Australia and China.

Over the last 15 years Tobias has collaborated with Indigenous communities in the Pilbara, Arnhem Land, Tiwi Islands, and South and Central Australia creating photographic artworks. Works created during these cross-cultural artistic interactions and collaborations are now held in the Museum of Australian Democracy, the National Library, Canberra and the Southeast Museum of Photography, Florida, USA.

Tobias’ photographs are included in the Polaroid Collection USA, the Moran Foundation Australia and numerous private collections in Australia, Europe and the USA.

Tobias won the HeadOn Photography Prize 2008, the Doug Moran Contemporary Photography Prize 2012 and the Art Handler Award at the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. He lectures in Photography at Monash University, Victoria.

Nganana Tjungu - the Exhibition

We are delighted to present the exhibition Nganana Tjungu. It's the first time the works have been on exhibition. 

In 2018 Ikuntji Artists collaborated with photographer Tobias Titz to create a unique body of artworks featuring polaroid portraits by Tobias accompanied by etchings created by Ikuntji artists. The images are inspired by Tobias's long term ‘Polaroid project’ which began in 1998, one strand of which combines his instantaneous portraits of First Nations Australians with etchings made by them into the wet emulsion of the large format Polaroid negative. 

“Nganana Tjungu – this is us” is part of Ikuntji Artists ‘History Project’ that began in 2017. It was initiated by the Board of Ikuntji Artists as a way of re-telling the history of Ikuntji from within, from the perspective of its owners. Ikuntji Artists was the first Indigenous art centre in the Western Desert established by women. It was inclusive of all community members, however, had a focus on supporting women. The History project is about the unheard voices of the Western Desert art movement, aiming at documenting and celebrating the life stories and histories of Ikuntji Artists and the art movement through multimedia and bilingual texts. Some of the artists who have passed away since the collaboration will not included in the exhibition. 

Other Work

Tobias has an extraordinary body of work and has worked with diverse and fascinating people. Here are a few: 

National Library acquisition 2020
The National Library of Australia aquired the images of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter for their permanent collection.

Martin Kantor Portrait Prize highly commended and Exhibition 2019
Tobias's image of Michael Leunig received a highly commended at the Martin Kantor Portrait Prize 2019.
The exhibition with the works of all finalists was on display in 2019 as part of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

National Library of Australia acquired image of Daisy Kadibil 2019
Tobias's image of Daisy Kadibil talking about her escape along the rabbit-proof fence was acquired by the National Library of Australia. Daisy Kadibil was a small child when she was taken away from her family as part of the Stolen Generations.
She and her sisters, Molly and Gracie, used the rabbit-proof fence to find their way back home to Jigalong from Moore River Native Settlement north of Perth, a journey of about 1600 kilometres.