PORTFOLIO: Terra Nullius, Australia: Terranullius_46_DAV2010-1201_D01_46

Eddy’s silence is palpable. His hand slowly reaches for his packet of rollies on the dashboard of the 4WD. Scanning for the smallest of details that might indicate the passage of a few wild animals, his eyes are fixed on the horizon. Gripping the steering wheel, Michael, at once anxious and excited, with a knife and hunting gear attached to his belt, is ready to pounce at any moment as he casts side glances at Eddy. Hunting allows Michael to let off steam and provides meat for his dogs. Eddy knows this region well, his aboriginal maternal roots are firmly set in the green expanses of the Wet lands, par t of the Kakadu area in the t ropicalregion of the North. From paw prints to the curve of grasses, or the trajectory of a bird against a bright blue sky, nothing escapes his keen eye. A black spot appears behind a tree in the distance, then two spots, then three. A still silent Eddy gestures slowly to Michael, slowly from the end of his fingertip, a rollie ready to go in his hand. Eddy has barely lit his cigarette before Michael lets his dogs loose and strides off into the bush. Ear-piercing noises are heard; it’s probably. Pepper and Monkey, the more agile dogs, who are already hanging off the wild pigs’ ears. NT, Australia, 2012.

Eddy’s silence is palpable. His hand slowly reaches for his packet of rollies on the dashboard of the 4WD. Scanning for the smallest of details that might indicate the passage of a few wild animals, his eyes are fixed on the horizon. Gripping the steering wheel, Michael, at once anxious and excited, with a knife and hunting gear attached to his belt, is ready to pounce at any moment as he casts side glances at Eddy. Hunting allows Michael to let off steam and provides meat for his dogs. Eddy knows this region well, his aboriginal maternal roots are firmly set in the green expanses of the Wet lands, par t of the Kakadu area in the t ropical 

region of the North. From paw prints to the curve of grasses, or the trajectory of a bird against a bright blue sky, nothing escapes his keen eye. A black spot appears behind a tree in the distance, then two spots, then three. A still silent Eddy gestures slowly to Michael, slowly from the end of his fingertip, a rollie ready to go in his hand. Eddy has barely lit his cigarette before Michael lets his dogs loose and strides off into the bush. Ear-piercing noises are heard; it’s probably. Pepper and Monkey, the more agile dogs, who are already hanging off the wild pigs’ ears. NT, Australia, 2012.