James Tylor: Tapa-arra Through the Landscape.: N.Smith Gallery

N.Smith Gallery is pleased to present James Tylor’s Tapa-arra Through the Landscape, a photographic exploration of Indigenous roads, songlines, and trade routes across Australia, focussing on the Kaurna people of South Australia. For thousands of years, these paths connected Aboriginal nations, facilitating movement, exchange, and cultural continuity. Now,  overlaid by colonial infrastructure, their histories obscured beneath highways and urban sprawl. Through his layered photographic interventions and use of negative space, James reveals these hidden routes, tracing both the disruption and endurance of these historical networks.

Across the series, roads stretching from Adelaide to Rapid Bay, Encounter Bay, the River Murray, and beyond resurface as points of reflection and continual connection. James’ practice, grounded in experimental and historical photographic techniques, recontextualises the visual language of colonial documentation, offering a counter-narrative that asserts Indigenous presence and knowledge.

We warmly invite you to the opening of James Tylor's solo exhibition Tapa-arra Through the Landscape at N.Smith Gallery, 15 Foster Street, Surry Hills, 27 February, 6-8pm. No RSVP required.