Colleen Strangways: Wathlu Anthunda (My World)

Colleen Strangways is an Adelaide-based Arabana, Mudbura, Gurindji and Warlpiri photographer and filmmaker. Wathlu Anthunda (My World) brings together 38 powerful portraits of First Nations people from 30 communities, drawn from across Strangways’ 15-year career.

Moving between public and intimate worlds, the exhibition places portraits of respected leaders alongside family photographs made on Country at Mpantwe (Alice Springs) and near Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre) in South Australia’s Far North.

High-concept works are staged within natural landscapes or in Strangways’ improvised home studio. Through staging, adornment and special-effects, Strangways creates a cinematic visual language for cultural storytelling. Her subjects are presented through an Aboriginal lens, and depicted, quite simply, in a good light. This is the most comprehensive presentation of her photographic practice to date.

A complementary display of Strangways' UV Songlines: Illuminating Ancestral Roots series will run in the City of Adelaide ART POD [25 Pirie St] during Adelaide Fringe 2026 [20 February – 22 March 2026].

Image: Colleen Strangways, Nunga Queen, 2014, giclée print; Courtesy of the artist; model: Talisha Saunders, Wirangu, Kokatha, Mirning peoples