Tensio (Currawongs and snake)
(2002); printed (2006)
Medium
cibachrone photograph
Measurements
(82.7 × 278.4 cm) (image and sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds arranged by Loti Smorgon for Contemporary Australian Photography, 2004
© Brook Andrew/Copyright Agency, 2023
Gallery location
Gallery 9
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
Tensio takes its name from the Latin word meaning ‘to stretch’. This panoramic photograph features mirrored images emerging from a dark background, depicting currawongs observing coiled snakes. The animals in the photograph are taxidermy specimens, like those typically found in natural history museums. Andrew, however, presents them as representations of Indigenous totems. By positioning these creatures in an otherworldly landscape, the work evokes the spiritual and cultural relationships between humans, animals and Country.
Artwork Details
Accession Number
2006.433
Department
Australian Photography
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Professor AGL Shaw AO Bequest