'This photographic series, Tapa-arra Through the Landscape, highlights historical Indigenous roads, songlines and trade routes across Australia. For thousands of years, Aboriginal people have used roads to link different nations for travel, migration, trading, and other cultural purposes.'
James Tylor’s final photographic series, Tapa-arra Through the Landscape, highlights the historical Indigenous roads, songlines, and trade routes across Australia, with a focus on the Kaurna people of South Australia. For thousands of years, these paths facilitated travel, trade, and cultural exchange between Aboriginal nations.
The series explores key Kaurna roads, including routes from Adelaide to Rapid Bay, Encounter Bay, the River Murray, Barossa Valley, and the Northern Adelaide Plains. These roads, originally created by the Kaurna and neighbouring nations, were later used by European settlers during colonisation and have since become modern highways.
Tylor’s photographs symbolically divide the images to reflect the paths of least resistance, representing the disruption of these ancient routes. The title Tapa-arra, meaning ‘along the path’ in Kaurna, honours the deep connection to the land and the ongoing legacy of Indigenous roads.
