Ben Apfelbaum

THE VIGIL @ BARANGAROO RESERVE

Surrounded by 250 Aboriginal flags symbolising Captain Cook’s arrival 250 years ago, The Vigil took place on the eve of Australia Day with some people staying until the dawn of 26th January.

After a parade of elders into the campfire site, the large crowd was welcomed with a Shark dance.

Aboriginal poet and dancer Dan Singleton in verse and movement gave a powerful outline of indigenous suffering and determination to physically and culturally survive.

At several stages in the performance Singleton called on the audience to raise their hands to show their agreement and affirmation of his sentiments.

The Artistic Director of the Sydney Festival Wesley Enoch who that day had received an Order Of Australia also spoke powerfully on the themes of suffering and survival and these ideas were echoed in the songs of Dan Sultan which kicked off a night of entertainment and dance with Archie Roach on the list of performers.

Featured image : A Shark dance. All pics by Ben Apfelbaum.

 

 

 

 

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.