Research Project
Researchers: Dr Louise Hamby (Managed by) , Howard Morphy , Ms Philipa Deveson , Professor Howard Morphy
Full description The project aims to discover the motivations of the makers of the material record of Yolngu society from the beginning of missionisation to the present, and those of the Yolngu themselves, in contributing to collections and taking part in filming. The project is radical in treating the material record (film, photography, and material culture) as a whole and in investigating the agency of the Indigenous people involved. The project will result in a number of publications and a web-based resource that will be of great utility to researchers and Yolngu alike and can provide a model for collections based research. The research project will make people aware of the collaborative nature of the material record of Yolngu societies that has been made over time by the participation of researchers, collectors, filmmakers and Yolngu people themselves. It will demonstrate the ways in which digital technology can be used as an integral part of a research process to produce outcomes that can be made accessible to a wide range of different users. It will help people understand the complex historical processes that have resulted in the present museum and archival record and facilitate their use.
