Communicating in ways that words cannot – a yarn with Hunter Callaghan

Take a closer look at the beautiful images on the wawa biik website, and below. You may notice they communicate not only the warmth and excitement of the wawa biik journey, but also hint at the pride and connection that the photographer Hunter Callaghan has to his mob and Country. Hunter belongs to the Nira-illim Bulluk Clan of the Taungurung Nation and was born and raised in the western suburbs of Naarm, Bunurong Country. He works as a content producer for RMIT University but is also a freelance photographer driven to capture the faces and places that tell the Taungurung story.

In 2020, Hunter created a powerful photo–documentary book titled UNEARTHED. The black and white images are a stark reminder of a duality that exists between the proud and enduring culture created by Taungurung Ancestors, contrasted with the heavy impact of colonisation and the painstaking daily work needed to protect Taungurung cultural heritage for the future. Hunter’s images provoke empathy and understanding of cultural complexities but are also his personal way of deepening his own cultural knowledge and connections.