Pictures Of You
Pictures of You: an exhibition with a difference - empowering and representing
people with disabilities through art
Pictures of You was a new collaborative exhibition led by John Brookes opened at Belconnen Arts
Centre at 6pm on Friday 2 December 2022 ahead of International Day of People with Disability.
The exhibition links people with lived experience of physical and mental disabilities with an
empathic, experienced professional photographer (Hilary Wardhaugh). Working in equal
collaboration to produce an honest portrait, the final works aim to reflect the whole person and not
just the ‘consumer with a disability’.
Project Manager John Brookes of @Canberry Communications explains: “The goal is one of equal
balance in working with the artist to vocalise their experiences and feelings, collaborating to
produce a visual and accessible perspective for reference by the subject and the wider community.
“The end result is combination of a meaningful and balanced exploration of issues and a source of
pride in the subject; coupled with the artist’s natural creative ability to empathise with and interpret
their subject in new ways by working WITH the subject.”
Eleanor Waight, portrait subject, adds “I really didn’t want to be portrayed as a sad figure. I wanted
people to see me as I am and I really liked the end result. I think there is a tendency for people to
see the white cane before they really see the person, which is a shame. . I like the way it shows me
looking forward with a certain sense of anticipation.”
Exhibition opening: 6pm Friday 2 December 2022
Exhibition: 2 December 2022 – 5 February 2023
Learn more: www.belcoarts.com.au/pictures
Images below in order are:
Melissa, Eleanor, Glen, Arto, Bruno and Rebus Theatre
MELISSA HAMMOND
Do you see what I see? A person in pain? A person who struggled to get
dressed and do their hair that day? A person calculating what they will have to
give up in their week to recover from this? My battle is not only with my body,
it’s the part of me you can’t see.
In 2015, I was involved in a car accident. As a result of my injuries, I was left
with the invisible disability called chronic pain and became homeless, needing
to couch surf to get by.
You could think for a moment that I’m lying but the truth is, being questioned
whether I am is just another way having an invisible disability hurts me. I don’t
share my disability and hardship as an excuse or to get out of things, I share it
to explain the barriers I am facing; hoping to be understood and supported.
HILARY
Melissa and I created this portrait after a long discussion about invisible
disability and homelessness. Melissa has lived with chronic and debilitating
pain since an accident. Her outward appearance to all intents and purpose
looks ‘normal’, though that word should never be used! Because of her
disability she has experienced homelessness, hence using the couch.
Her pose reflects the two forms of human nature that intrigues me - being
irony and contradiction. Here she sits in the road, all dressed to the nines with
the sun on her face looking resilient and calm.
The mirror reflects a different point of view. One cannot assume that just
because a person does not have an obvious health problem that they are well
and able. It is fluid. I wanted to show Melissa’s beauty and resilience against
adversity. The backdrop is a home that has been vacant for a couple of
decades, hence the irony.
ELEANOR WAIGHT
I am an emerging artist with low vision, dabbling in a variety of media. I have
always had a creative leaning, be that music, writing or art. I wanted to
capture me as I am now, particularly following a period of personal hardship,
including COVID.
Hilary and I had a good rapport early on and I felt comfortable. I even came up
with my own pose which was indicative of how comfortable I became. I think
the poses where my cane leaned against the sculpture were particularly
powerful.
I didn’t want to be portrayed as a sad figure. I wanted people to see me as I
am and I really liked the end result. There is a tendency for people to see the
white cane before they really see the person, which is a shame. I like the way
it shows me looking forward with a certain sense of anticipation. I think what
surprised me was my own presence as the focus of the portrait.
HILARY
Eleanor and I met at the NGA Sculpture Gardens as she is a creative individual.
I wanted to make a strong positive portrait of Eleanor as she was previously a
runner and has also lost weight. It was important to me to use her cane in the
image as a way to make the viewer question what it was.
As an able bodied person I have learned much about disability when
photographing for the exhibition. Eleanor and I had a lovely chat about life,
family, relationships and work.
I felt that even though there are many differences in our lives there are far
more similarities. I really enjoyed the time together making her portrait.
Choosing the portrait was interesting as photographically at first I did
prefer a different image, but in the end it was great that we ended up both
agreeing on the chosen image easily.
WILLIAM (GLENN) DOIG
I was born on a 1100-acre farm in Lockard NSW, with my Mum, Dad and 4
siblings. It was a mud brick house estimated to be over 118 years old.
I loved growing up on the farm and was very rarely clean! It was a great
teacher to me in adapting and overcoming struggles, especially with my
cerebral palsy. I went on to achieve a Diploma in Computing at Charles Stuart
University, and then moved to Canberra to work at the Bureau of Statistics for
many years.
I have been part of a church group for a long time and through this group I met
my beautiful wife Sharon.
I love to talk about my childhood and family. I am pictured holding photos as I
love to share them and tell the stories behind them.
I am interested in science and natural wonders, and enjoy the comic Footrot
Flats, and the creator of the Muppets show Jim Henson. I love sharing these
with people through YouTube.
I found Hilary very interesting and really enjoyed talking with her. I was very
impressed that she made me look so good in the photos!
HILARY
Glenn and I met a few weeks before we did the actual portrait. We had a lovely
discussion about his wife, his condition, his photos, and what I did.
He tells me his wife has also been doing a photography course. He also spoke
about his faith and how important it was is to him. It is how he and his wife
met.
Glenn’s smile is infectious as is his wonderful positivity. The day I
photographed him it looked like it was going to rain and he told me that he
loved the sound of the rain on the tin roof.
I watched him sitting very happily and contentedly outside and felt it was only
appropriate that I photograph him in the front yard of his home.
ARTO LEVONPERA
I was born in Finland and came to Melbourne Australia with my mum, dad,
sister and brother when I was 7 years old.
I studied computing at school and went on to become a computer programmer
which I enjoyed immensely.
Despite suffering a stroke due to a brain tumour, I still have a love of
computing along with science, engineering and space. I enjoy watching shows
and documentaries on these subjects - particularly anything involving
Professor Brian Cox.
I love to talk about my Finish heritage – which is where my love of beetroot
comes from!
I really enjoyed that Hilary sat with me before the photo shoot and that we
were able to have a chat and get to know each other. I loved having my photo
taken and was smiling more than I have in a long time.
HILARY
I sat down and enjoyed a cup of tea with Arto before photographing him. I
learned of his love of the planets and stars, Brian Cox, robotics and that he was
currently reading a book called Autonomy.
The book discusses self-driving cars, but it seems poignant that the word
autonomy is part of his portrait, as his life requires much help and care. I loved
that he had a twinkle in his eye and I enjoyed his quips.
I photographed him sitting in his chair at his home.
BRUNO CIRILLO
I was born in Italy and moved to Geelong Melbourne as a child. I come from a
tight knit loving family. My family has always been very supportive of me,
especially my sister Maria and niece Rosetta.
I attended the Koomarri school and then worked for them for 44 years, retiring
this year.
I love Elvis, ABBA as well as singing and playing the guitar. I love to do art and
being around animals, playing games, watching old tv shows and cartoons. My
favourite thing to wear is High Vis work wear.
I had a fantastic time working with Hilary. I would have been happy to posed
and perform for her all day and was sad when she left. I love the photos and
have covered my bedroom wall with copies of them.
HILARY
When Bruno and I first met he wanted to show me his love of Elvis Presley. He
loves singing the songs and dressing up as Elvis himself. I thought about
photographing him dressed up as Elvis with the wig, the glasses, cloak and the
microphone. We did get some lovely portraits of him dressed that way but it
became more about the character, not Bruno.
One of the carers Amanda helped him put on his suit and as soon as he was
dressed I realised this was Bruno. Dressed, with dignity with his guitar singing
Elvis and looking wonderful. It means so much to me to be able to portray
Bruno with love respect and dignity.
REBUS THEATRE CAST: Edward Menzies, Leanne Shutt, Josh Rose, Carol Jayne
McManus, Stephen Perkins, Sam Floyd, Zoe Trevorrow, Megumi Kawada
Rebus Theatre’s bold new work Utopiate was performed at Belco Arts Theatre
in November 2022. The cast-devised show explored the experiences,
challenges and voices of the mixed ability cast through a fictional intergalactic
sci-fi odyssey.
“This is the first time I have been part of writing a play, there is a bit of all of us
in it. It is an empowering fascinating journey. We support and encourage our
diversity and quirkiness. It is a safe space allowing us to explore ourselves, our
feelings and how we engage in life on this planet. It has helped me find myself,
my voice, communicate, and explore my creativity. It opened my mind to new
ways and possibilities. Theatre is therapeutic.” (Leanne Shutt – cast member)
“It’s been an honour to direct this incredible, insightful bunch of humans. They
instantly gelled as an ensemble, responding like fish to water as we threw them
in the deep end of devising and performance techniques. They shared openly
and honestly, supporting each other in the creation of the story. They are a
theatre ensemble in the truest sense of the phrase.” (Ben Drysdale – Rebus
Theatre Creative Producer & Co-Director of Utopiate with Sammy Moynihan)
HILARY
When I attended the Rebus Theatre rehearsals I was warmly welcomed. One of
the Directors, Ben tells me that many people see theatre performed by people
with disability, a hobby and activity. We felt it necessary to show that these
actors are very talented at their craft and that not all emotion is happy.
We photographed the group going through an exercise where they were
expressing an increasing amount of pain. The expression was visual and verbal.
It was a powerful thing to observe and photograph.
