Michael Jalaru Torres is an Indigenous fine art photographer and poet, born in 1976, in Broome, Western Australia. He is a Djugun-Yawuru man with tribal connections to the Gooniyandi/Jabbir Jabbir/Ngarluma peoples. He draws inspiration from the unique landscapes and people of the Kimberley region, which feature prominently in his work.
Michael’s photography explores contemporary social and political issues facing Indigenous people, drawing on his own stories and personal history. He creates conceptual and innovative portraiture and abstract landscape photography. Although he is a self-taught photographer, he regularly experiments with different mediums, and he is interested in expanding his photography into installations and motion work, pushing the boundaries of conceptual photography.
His photography has appeared in exhibitions in China, Germany, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and regional Western Australia. He has won several awards, including being a finalist in the Telstra NATISAA Awards in 2023. He has also exhibited in solo exhibitions, such as the WA Museum video creator in 2024, Bingaa – Ballarat International Foto Biennale in 2023, and SCAR III 2021 – Red Earth Arts Festival, Karratha.
Michael has exhibited in several group exhibitions, including ‘IN THE RUINS I SEE THE FUTURE’- Incinerator Gallery in 2023, Kakala Tapu – Collaboration + Veisinia Tonga – Blak Dot Gallery in 2021, and Say it with Flowers presented by Kat Clarke – Ballarat International Foto Biennale in 2021. He is also the founder of Blak Lens, a community-made collective of established, emerging, and aspiring Blak photographers and videographers across Australia.
Michael Jalaru Torres’ work not only celebrates the unique cultural heritage, experiences, and perspectives of Indigenous Australians, but it also raises awareness of the ongoing struggles and injustices faced by these communities in the present day.
You can find more of his work on his website www.jalaru.com or follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/jalaruphotography/ or Twitter at www.twitter.com/JalaruPhoto .
I am also the founder of Blak Lens www.blaklens.com.au
ABN: 80 331 475 280
Capability
I primarily shoot on Canon C70 for video productions and Fuji GFX and X Series for stills with Dji Mavic 3 for drone imagery.
My workflow includes Adobe Creative Cloud
Clients
- Rio Tinto
- INPEX
- City of Melbourne
- Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages | Department of Justice and Community Safety
- ACMI
- Thirrili Ltd
- Culture is Life
- Yarra Ranges
- Community Arts Network
- Melbourne Fringe 2019
- Yirramboi Festival 2019
- Koorie Heritage Trust
- Playwriting Australia
- Landcorp
- National Indigenous Literacy Foundation
- Nyamba Bu Yawuru
- WAITOC
- ABC
- NITV
- Marrugeku
- Magabala
- Goolarri Media
- Aarli Fashion
- Jira Models
- Mayrah Fashion
- Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service
- Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service
- AFL
And I can deliver via Dropbox and WeTransfer
Awards
Telstra NATISAA Finalist 2023
Solo Exhibitions
WA Museum video creator 2024
Bingaa – Ballarat International Foto Biennale – 2023
SCAR III 2021 – Red Earth Arts Festival, Karratha
TETHER 2020 – Cooee Art Gallery, Sydney
CONNECTION 2020 – May 2020 – Cooee Art Gallery, Sydney
MOTHER EARTH BURN 2019 – Blak Dot Gallery, Melbourne
COLLECT – 2019 – Galerie KUB in Leipzig, Germany
NATIVE – Head On Photo Festival 2019 – 4th to 18th May 2019 – Cooee Art Gallery, Sydney
Head On Photo Festival 2018 – Sydney – feature photographer
SCAR II 2018 – Perth
EXIF 2018 – Broome
SCAR I 2017 – Perth
Group Exhibitions
‘IN THE RUINS I SEE THE FUTURE’- Incinerator Gallery – 2023
Kakala Tapu – Collaboration + Veisinia Tonga – Blak Dot Gallery – 2021
Say it with Flowers presented by Kat Clarke – Ballarat International Foto Biennale – 2021
FIFTY SQUARED ART PRIZE – Brunswick Street Gallery 2020
Centre for Contemporary Photography – ILFORD CCP Salon 2019
Perth Centre of Photography – IRIS Award 2019
Pingyao International Photography Festival 2019 – Pingyao, China
WRITING ON THE WALL 2019 – Blak Dot Gallery, Melbourne
‘To Be Continued… Photography from Indigenous Australia’ 2019 – Fremantle Art Centre
Portraits of the Kimberley 2019 – Desert River Sea – Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth
Australiyaniality 2018 – Janet Holmes a Court Gallery, Perth
Sydney Contemporary 2018 – Sydney, – exhibitor
Head On Photo Festival 2017 – Sydney
ON THE MAP 2017 – Perth
Desert River Sea 2017 – Kununurra
Elements 2017 – Sydney
Revealed 2016 – Perth
Contact me
0400569688