Lindy Allen, THE TREE PEOPLE OF FLOWERDALE (People)

This collection of photographs was produced by photographer Lindy Allen working in collaboration with Flowerdale Community House and members of the Flowerdale community over a three day residency in late March 2020 to produce portraits of local people who had the image of a tree tattoo-ed on their skin in the months following the Black Saturday bushfires on 7 February, 2009. Participants were asked to choose a background for their portrait that helped explain why the tattoo was important to them. Gabby Denke: After surviving the Black Saturday fires in Flowerdale, Gabby Denke joined the CFA to give something back to the community. “This tattoo means to me that my family was able to survive and that they’re healthy and we got out of something that was really bad. The reason I joined the CFA is because I want to give back to the community what they gave to us and I want to help everybody. I feel really good when I go out and I’ve done something for somebody. You’ve got that control. You’re able to be there to help people and let them know that it’s under control and we’re keeping them calm and safe and that they know that we’re there for them.”

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.