IN AN INCREASINGLY globalised world where mobility is both celebrated and contested, photography has emerged as a powerful tool to express and explore the complexities of migration, displacement, and the negotiation of cultural identities. For many contemporary photographers, these themes are not only personal but deeply embedded in the social and political fabric of their societies. Australian photographers, in particular, have used the lens to document the nuanced and often difficult experiences of migration and the complex processes of belonging in a rapidly changing world.
Migration and displacement, whether voluntary or forced, create a multitude of tensions within individuals and communities, particularly regarding how identity is constructed, altered, or maintained. While photography itself is often seen as a medium of realism, it can transcend mere documentation and become a form of social commentary that challenges, reimagines, and complicates narratives of belonging. In Australia, this exploration is especially poignant, given the country’s history of both welcoming immigrants and confronting controversial immigration policies.
This article explores the work of several Australian photographers whose practices address these issues head-on, using their craft to question, document, and represent the multifaceted experiences of migration, displacement, and cultural identity. Photographers such as Effy Alexakis, Hoda Afshar, Atong Atem, William Yang, Phuong Ngo, Barbara McGrady, and Tammy Law, are central figures in this discussion. Through their works, these photographers explore what it means to belong, what it means to be displaced, and how identity is continuously constructed and reconstructed in the face of cultural and geographical shifts.
Effy Alexakis: Capturing the Greek-Australian Experience
Effy Alexakis has spent over four decades chronicling the complexities of Greek migration to Australia, building one of the most comprehensive visual archives of the Greek-Australian experience. Her project, In Their Own Image: Greek-Australians, developed in collaboration with sociocultural historian Leonard Janiszewski, began in early 1980s and has become a landmark contribution to both documentary photography and migration studies. Through this long-term initiative, Alexakis has photographed hundreds of individuals and families, offering a deeply personal and nuanced portrayal of displacement, cultural continuity, and belonging.
Alexakis’s photographs are grounded in empathy and intimacy. Her portraits are often made within domestic spaces, surrounded by the everyday details that evoke memory—family heirlooms, religious icons, wedding photos, or the humble patterns of familiar textiles. These subtle elements allow her images to move beyond conventional documentary form, capturing the emotional resonance of migration as something lived and felt across generations.
Her work deliberately challenges stereotypes of the migrant as either assimilated or forever foreign. Instead, Alexakis presents Greek-Australians as active agents in shaping their cultural identity within a broader Australian context. The photographs suggest that diaspora is not simply a condition of loss or nostalgia but also a space of adaptation, negotiation, and pride. By combining photography with oral histories and archival research, the project creates a layered narrative that resists linear or simplified readings of migration.
The scope of In Their Own Image extends beyond the visual. It includes publications, travelling exhibitions, film documentaries, and academic collaborations. Importantly, it functions as both an artistic and educational resource, used in schools, universities, and public forums to expand awareness of Australia’s multicultural past and present. The archive itself is now recognised as one of the largest, most diverse, detailed and expansive collections on Greek migration, settlement and identity, across generations, within Australia, and an invaluable cultural and historical record of the Greek diaspora in Australia and internationally.
Alexakis’s work offers a critical lens through which to consider the role of photography in articulating the textures of migration and identity. Her project reminds us that the history of displacement is not solely about departure or arrival—it is about the everyday negotiation of what it means to belong, and how that meaning shifts across space, time, and generation.
Hoda Afshar: Statelessness and Resistance
Hoda Afshar, an Iranian-born artist living in Melbourne, creates work that interrogates the politics of power, visibility, and the human cost of border regimes. Her photographic series Remain (2018) focuses on the lives of men who were detained for years on Manus Island, part of Australia’s offshore processing system for asylum seekers. Instead of simply documenting their suffering, Afshar collaborated with the men to create powerful, staged black-and-white portraits that express their resilience, grief, and defiance.
One of the central figures in the project is Kurdish-Iranian writer and journalist Behrouz Boochani, whose voice has become a powerful account of life inside the detention centre. His collaboration with Afshar helped shape the tone of the series—more poetic protest than reportage. The images are deeply symbolic: a body floating in water, another suspended mid-air, a face half-covered in shadows. Each frame resists easy interpretation and instead evokes the emotional and psychological weight of being exiled, stateless, and silenced.
Afshar’s photographs invite viewers to confront the human consequences of policies that criminalise migration and strip people of identity and agency. Her use of natural light, quiet gestures, and careful composition avoids sensationalism. Instead, the work restores dignity to people so often dehumanised in political discourse. The men in Remain are presented not as anonymous detainees but as individuals—thinking, feeling, surviving.
Through this series, Afshar offers a powerful meditation on the meaning of borders and the violence they can inflict. She explores what it means to belong—or to be refused belonging—when the state denies one’s right to move, settle, or be recognised. Remain becomes more than a record of injustice; it is a visual act of solidarity and a reminder of the shared humanity that exists beyond borders.
Atong Atem: Reclaiming African Identity
Atong Atem is a South Sudanese-Australian artist whose photographic work explores the complexities of identity, diaspora, and the aesthetics of self-representation. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Australia, Atem’s lived experience as part of the African diaspora informs much of her practice. In Studio Series (2015), one of her most widely recognised bodies of work, she turns to the tradition of African studio portraiture as a way to reclaim and reframe Black identity within the Australian cultural landscape.
Drawing inspiration from iconic African studio photographers such as Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keïta, Atem’s Studio Series presents a vibrant, performative celebration of identity. Her subjects—mostly friends and fellow members of the African-Australian community—pose in front of brightly coloured backdrops, adorned with patterned textiles, layered garments, and props that blend African and contemporary Western aesthetics. These portraits are not only visually striking but also conceptually potent. They resist the historical ethnographic gaze and instead assert autonomy, agency, and complexity. Through her lens, Atem offers a space in which her subjects are not defined by trauma or marginalisation but by joy, creativity, and self-expression.
Atem’s series speaks directly to the dislocations of migration and the ongoing work of cultural negotiation. The portraits capture individuals navigating what it means to belong across borders—between the homeland left behind and the society in which they now live. In doing so, Studio Series reflects on the layered experience of displacement, particularly the emotional task of constructing identity in the absence of a singular, rooted cultural narrative. Rather than offering a fixed idea of who these individuals are, the work embraces multiplicity and contradiction—an identity that is at once inherited and invented.
Importantly, Studio Series challenges dominant narratives about Blackness and migrant identity in Australia. It rejects the visual tropes that often define representations of African people in the media—tropes rooted in colonialism, victimhood, and othering. Atem’s portraits instead place her subjects within a long, rich tradition of African visual culture while simultaneously situating them in the contemporary Australian context. In doing so, she offers a powerful commentary on what it means to belong, not just in terms of place, but within the fabric of cultural memory and visibility.
William Yang: The Chinese-Australian Queer Experience
William Yang, born in 1943 in Dimbulah, Queensland, is a third-generation Chinese-Australian photographer and performance artist renowned for his poignant explorations of cultural and sexual identity. His work intricately weaves personal narratives with broader social histories, offering a profound commentary on the complexities of belonging in a multicultural society.
In his seminal performance piece Sadness (1992), Yang combines photographic slides with spoken monologue to delve into two interrelated narratives: the investigation of his uncle Fang Yuen’s murder in North Queensland and the commemoration of friends lost to the AIDS epidemic. This dual narrative structure allows Yang to examine the intersections of his Chinese heritage and gay identity, highlighting the challenges of navigating multiple cultural affiliations in a society that often marginalises both.
Yang’s storytelling is marked by its intimacy and vulnerability. Through personal anecdotes and archival photographs, he invites audiences into his journey of self-discovery and reconciliation with his heritage. His work not only documents personal loss and cultural disconnection but also serves as a broader reflection on the immigrant experience in Australia, addressing themes of assimilation, identity suppression, and the quest for acceptance.
By intertwining personal memory with collective history, Yang’s Sadness transcends individual experience, offering a universal meditation on grief, identity, and the enduring impact of cultural displacement. His innovative fusion of photography and performance has cemented his place as a pivotal figure in Australian art, providing a vital lens through which to examine the nuanced realities of migration and belonging.
Phuong Ngo: Archiving the Vietnamese-Australian Experience
Phuong Ngo is a Vietnamese-Australian artist and curator whose practice is deeply rooted in the personal and political histories of the Vietnamese diaspora. Born in Adelaide to refugee parents who arrived in Australia after the Vietnam War, Ngo’s work speaks to the enduring legacies of conflict, displacement, and cultural survival. Central to his practice is the long-term Vietnam Archive Project, an ongoing body of work through which he collects and engages with photographs, documents, and artefacts that narrate the journeys and experiences of Vietnamese refugees and migrants.
The archive, which Ngo began assembling in 2010, includes thousands of items—family photographs, government records, propaganda leaflets, and personal ephemera. These materials are drawn from a range of sources: online auctions, estate clearances, and donations from members of the Vietnamese-Australian community. Through this meticulous collecting, Ngo not only preserves the cultural memory of a displaced people but also examines how history is shaped, remembered, and passed on. His installations and exhibitions often reconfigure these materials in new visual and spatial forms, prompting reflection on what is remembered and what is forgotten.
Ngo’s work is more than documentation—it is an act of cultural reclamation. By placing the lived experiences of Vietnamese refugees at the centre of his practice, he challenges dominant narratives that often render migrant communities invisible or one-dimensional. His approach is personal and collective, inviting audiences to consider how stories of war, migration, and resettlement continue to resonate across generations. Works such as My Dad the People Smuggler (2014) and Conflicted (2017) combine archival content with installation and performance to provoke nuanced conversations around belonging, identity, and national mythology.
In doing so, Ngo’s art becomes a space of remembrance and resistance. It insists on the complexity of diasporic identity and honours the contributions of Vietnamese-Australians to the country’s cultural fabric. Through the lens of history and migration, Ngo reminds us that archives are not only about the past—they are also about how we see ourselves in the present and imagine the future.
Barbara McGrady: The Aboriginal-Australian Experience
Barbara McGrady is a key figure in Australian photography, renowned for her work that highlights the complex experiences of Aboriginal Australians in relation to cultural identity, displacement, and belonging. Her work serves as a poignant counter-narrative to mainstream portrayals of Indigenous peoples and explores the themes of resistance, survival, and the ongoing impact of colonisation.
McGrady’s photography often captures the resilience of Aboriginal communities, particularly in the face of displacement and the struggle for recognition and justice. Her work, grounded in her own cultural heritage as a Gomeroi/Gamilaraay Murri Yinnah Elder, is a direct challenge to colonial narratives that have historically undermined Aboriginal identity. Through her lens, McGrady documents the intimate moments of everyday life in Indigenous communities, portraying individuals and families connected to their land, culture, and ancestors.
McGrady’s images convey a sense of ongoing displacement and the quest for belonging. Her photography not only records the lived experiences of Aboriginal people but also challenges the historical erasure of their identities, advocating for recognition of Aboriginal sovereignty and cultural survival. By focusing on the intersections of family, land, and identity, McGrady’s work exemplifies the ways in which photography can engage with the complexities of migration, displacement, and the fight for cultural preservation.
In her series Ngiyaningy Maran Yaliwaunga Ngaara-li (Our Ancestors Are Always Watching), McGrady emphasizes the connection between contemporary Aboriginal communities and their ancestral roots. Through her portraits of Elders, activists, and artists, McGrady highlights how Aboriginal identity is tied not only to physical land but also to the spiritual and cultural connections that transcend colonial borders.
McGrady’s photographs, like the Ngiyaningy Maran Yaliwaunga Ngaara-li series, reinforce the notion that the displacement of Aboriginal communities is not merely a historical event but an ongoing experience. Her work underscores the continuing importance of reclaiming cultural spaces and asserting Indigenous identity, both of which resonate deeply with the themes of migration, belonging, and resistance.
Tammy Law: Tracing Migration Through Memory and Family
Tammy Law’s photography gives a deeply personal lens through which to consider the emotional weight of migration and displacement. Born to Chinese parents and raised in Queensland, Law often draws from her family’s history to examine how migration policies shape identity and belonging. Her work is particularly relevant to discussions about cultural memory and dislocation within contemporary Australia—not only because of the subjects she chooses, but because of the way she approaches them: with care, intimacy, and a desire to reveal the lasting impacts of forced movement.
Her project Permission to Belong (2017) offers a quiet but powerful reflection on migration, home, and identity through the lives of Burmese families resettled in Australia and the United States. Drawing on her own Chinese-Burmese heritage, Law captures the emotional complexity of displacement with sensitivity and care. Her photographs document families who have fled decades of military rule and civil conflict in Myanmar, now navigating life between cultures.
The work combines intimate portraits with large fold-out posters that merge images from refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border with scenes from new domestic environments. This visual layering reflects the tension between absence and presence, memory and adaptation. Accompanied by written testimonies from the families themselves, the project foregrounds personal narratives often overlooked in broader political discourse.
In the Australian context, where immigration debates often reduce asylum seekers to policy issues, Permission to Belong re-humanises the story. Law’s images highlight the endurance and quiet resilience of families making new lives while still carrying the weight of dislocation. Her work is a testament to the complexity of belonging—and a reminder that identity, like home, is something continuously redefined.
THE WORKS of Effy Alexakis, Hoda Afshar, Atong Atem, William Yang, Phuong Ngo, Barbara McGrady, and Tammy Law demonstrate how contemporary Australian photographers are using the medium of photography to address issues of migration, displacement, and cultural identity. Through their portraits, photojournalism, and conceptual projects, these photographers have created powerful visual narratives that question the notions of belonging and home in an increasingly globalised world.
In particular, Australian photographers have managed to capture the multifaceted experiences of migration and displacement in ways that challenge and complicate the national narratives of belonging. These works invite viewers to reconsider the idea of Australia as a “nation of migrants,” recognising that migration is not just about geographical movement but about the emotional, cultural, and personal transformations that take place along the way.
By providing intimate glimpses into the lives of those who have been displaced, whether by war, policy, or the search for a better life, these photographers are contributing to a more complex understanding of belonging in contemporary Australian society. In doing so, they make visible the struggles, joys, and complexities of life in the diaspora, creating a space for conversations about identity, community, and the politics of migration. Through their work, they remind us that photography is not just a means of capturing reality, but a way of reshaping the narrative, of finding space for those whose stories have often been left untold.
References
Alexakis, E. & Janiszewski, L. (2003). In Their Own Image: Greek-Australians. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger.
Afshar, H. (2018). Remain. Melbourne: Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.
Atem, A. (2015). Studio Series. Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria.
Yang, W. (1997). Sadness. Sydney: New South Wales Art Gallery.
Ngo, P. (2017). The Vietnam Archive Project. Melbourne: The Substation.documentor.com.au
McGrady, B. (2018). Deadly Women of Redfern. Exhibition at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence, Redfern, NSW.
Law, T. (2017) Permission to Belong. Brisbane: Self-published.
