Wayne Quilliam

Wayne Quilliam (born 1963) is an Aboriginal Australian photographic artist, curator, videographer, drone pilot and cultural adviser based in Melbourne. He specializes in portraits and landscapes of Indigenous people.

Early life Quilliam was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and raised in the suburb of Risdon Vale. As a child, he spent time in the bush around the Great Lakes and Central Tasmania where he learned about the land from his uncles and grandfather. However, he was otherwise disconnected from his aboriginal culture and refers to his cultural learning from Australian mainland communities in which he has lived and worked for more than 40 years.

Career Quilliam joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1979. He acquired his first camera in 1980 while stationed in Hong Kong.

Quilliam bought dark-room equipment from a customer whose chimney he was sweeping.

His ‘Lowanna’ series infuses textures of earth onto the human form, while his ‘Towindri’ landscape art and ‘Smoke’ exhibition explores the cultural significance of smoking ceremonies.

He is the official photographer for the Garma Festival of Traditional Cultures in Arnhem Land. Instaculture (July–August 2019); amBUSH Gallery, Sydney, New South Wales DJIWARR (April–August 2020) Earth Burns, Water Cries (July–September 2021); Venetian Media Group, South Yarra, Victoria

Personal life Quilliam is "a freshwater man from Tasmania". He has two sons and 4 grandchildren.

Books

Culture is Life (2021); Hardie Grant 2019 Survival International 2020 Calendar Photo Competition 2022 National Photographic Portrait Prize