MORE THAN WILDERNESS CALENDARS?
Alternative perspectives on the photography of Peter Dombrovskis
Stuart Solman
Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania , Hobart , Australia
Abstract
Photographer Peter Dombrovskis developed a powerful vision of the Tasmanian wilderness. In the context of environmental threats his photographs of the late 1970 and early 1980s, which constructed the wilderness as mythical and pristine, were intended to appeal to the emotion and imagination of suburban voters on mainland Australia .
One effect of Dombrovskis' vision is the conflation of the idea of Tasmania with that of wilderness. A consequence of this is the problematic belief that the wilderness has been saved. This belief remains robust, despite evidence to the contrary, and suggests that Tasmania performs an important function in the Australian imaginary, reflecting a shift in suburban values away from the traditional identification with the land in favour of the wilderness. By extension, this shift in identification is not permanent and may continue to change.
I argue that many Tasmanian businesses have utilised the resultant image of a pristine, green Tasmania to market their products and services. It follows that there is a close relationship between this positive image and the future of the Tasmanian economy, and that Tasmania as an environmentally-conscious brand is still developing. Therefore Peter Dombrovskis, as both a conservationist and commercially successful photographer, is a useful example of the transformation of an environmental ethic into Tasmania as brand. His books have operated as sites for discourse on the future of an eco-friendly Tasmania , and the range of significant written texts which accompany and collaborate with his photographs contribute to a vision of Tasmania at the same time as enacting the brand. However, ‘Brand Tasmania ' is more fragile than it would appear, and is at risk of being spoiled by the traditionally resource-based Tasmanian economy.
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