The Northern Rivers Times Edition 173

Page 20

The Northern Rivers Times

November 2, 2023

20 NEWS

Pictures from the edge

Karl Marx – Still top of the class…by Nigel Dawe By Tim Howard

UNBEKNOWNST to many, this year marks the 140th anniversary of the passing of Karl Marx; a looming cultural figure that became one of the most influential thinkers of all time. For those that mightn’t know, in a red, roasted nutshell – Marx was the German economist and social theorist that hatched the ideology of Marxism, that in turn morphed into Socialism and Communism. Intriguingly, Marx was sent packing and ran out of at least three countries for his groundbreaking views; views that dared to take by the horns near-on every sacred cow that the western world had chosen to blindly accept. From religion to the still conflictual predominance of unequally distributed wealth, social class divides, and the (mis) ownership of private property. One of the central fundaments of Marx’s outlook was his ever equalising, “From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.” An adage, that in time would prove ten-fold too lofty to ever realise in practice. Relatedly, what Marx couldn’t have foreseen, but no doubt had the hunch to suspect, is the halflings Communism would cough to the top by way of its sound principles, which doubled as approaches that were utterly unrealisable, beyond the hot air of discussing them with mere conviction. Intriguingly, some of the most despicable dictators and despots, have been leaders of different Communist regimes; of the likes of Joseph Stalin, that ruthlessly and small-mindedly abused their positions of power. Which is a sad blight on the copybook of a social initiative that merely

sought equality, albeit the equal distribution of resources for all. Such petty practitioners of lofty ideals, converted a genuinely promising approach to life, into a fish that would time and time again, simply come to rot directly from the head down. If the leaders of Communist countries didn’t betray and abuse the cause from within, then the bureaucrats in Capitalist nations saw to it that Communism would become a fully demonised ideology, to be condemned and avoided at all costs. As Marx himself once said, “Reason has always existed, but not always in a reasonable form.” And thanks to the menial likes of the American Senator, Joseph McCarthy, and the then head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, Communism would become tainted with a toxic red brush – right up to the present day. I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’d much rather have a “red under my bed” than a pennypinching mogul crouching over me in my sleep. Somehow it ever irks me to think Communism was something that slipped through our fingers; and certainly, compared to the astronomical riches for the few, and the abject poverty for the many, of Capitalism. Marx was being more than a little tongue-in-cheek when he once noted, “Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, you ruin a wonderful business opportunity.” Let’s just hope then, that the shrewd inclination, albeit craving for profit that has characterised humanity for centuries, doesn’t fully ‘put paid’ to us all, in the time that we have left to correct a ledger that is long overdue.

Photos recording the family life of a Northern Rivers woman raising two children in poverty in Bangalow has been accepted into Australia’s largest photographic event. In March Margaret Dean, who now lives at Wyan, near Casino, decided to send a portfolio of her pictures to the Head On Photo Festival. The festival, held at Bondi for from November 10 to December 3, prides itself on its collection of “beautiful, eclectic and thought-provoking images”. Ms Dean said she could not have been more excited at having her works chosen for the exhibition. “I’ve never really put myself out there,” she said. “I’ve ever tried to get any attention for my photographs. “I didn’t know if they were of interest to anybody. You know they are just family.” Ms Dean who was diagnosed as neurodiverse with autism, at the age of 54, long after she took these pictures, has produced images that give an insight into her world. “Looking back, these images represent the margins we have lived in: on the edge of town, under the poverty line, and in the fringes of society,” she said. Ms Dean said when she saw the call for submissions she thought maybe they could be of interest for other people. She sent in 20 photos taken over eight years while her two children grew up in their rented home at Bangalow and the judges chose 10 to be be part of the exhibition.

One of the photographs submitted for the Head On Exhibition starting in Sydney on November 10 capturing a family activity in Bangalow. Photo: Margaret Dean.

As a first time exhibitor she had no idea what might happen. “I had just about given up on them,” she said. “Then at the end of April I was told my photos were on the short list of entries. “Then I had to wait another three months, till

A moody portrait conveying the emotions of a family living with an undiagnosed condition at the margins of a community. Photo: Margaret Dean.

around July before I knew they had been accepted.” Ms Dean said she had been “sitting on” the photos for more than 10 years, quietly thinking they were good enough. “They tell a story about something and maybe it’s worth other people seeing them,” she said. Ms Dean said the photos were about belonging, yet never feeling like you’re part of the world. “When you feel like you’re not quite a part

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of the world, like other people are, then your home becomes a safe space for you because it’s the only space where you can be yourself without judgment,” she said. “That’s what I see when I look at these images.” But over time she said she has added onto that feeling. “The wider setting of the images is we were living in Bangalow at a time when it was undergoing great change. “I think we had the cheapest house to rent in town and it was at that time the financially disadvantaged residents the people who rented, but who had only income, were being pushed out by rising rents. “When I look back at these pictures, all the families that my daughter went to school with. They’re no longer there. “Most of them are gone. Unless they owned their own home, they’re no long there. It was like this pushing out of the poorer residents.” She described why she called the selection of photographs In Margins. “When I look at it I just see how looking back over my life, now that I know about my neurodiversity, I can see it in the photos,” she said. “I can see what I’m

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looking at now, but I didn’t understand it back then.” Head On Photo Festival creative director and founder Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, said the event accepted one of the highest numbers of works to date. “What’s unique about this festival - and unseen in any other gallery in Australia - is that we aren’t selecting the artists, rather the artwork based on its composition and merit alone,” Mr Rosenzveig said “The majority of portrait competitions are judged on the celebrity of the photographer or subject, meaning so many incredible works are not seen. “At Head On the pieces are submitted blindly, so the selection panel doesn’t know who the photographer is. We don’t care where they went to school, or where they have exhibited before. We’re trying to eliminate that bias.” Over the years, Head On Foundation has put $700,000 in cash and products back into the arts industry through the Head On Photo Awards and supported thousands of photographic artists by producing and promoting their exhibitions.

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NOTICES

19min
pages 52-55

A Guide to Indigenous Australian Plants

29min
pages 46-52

Large Fossil Spider found in Australia

2min
page 46

Why low-cost ketamine is still inaccessible to many with severe depression

2min
page 45

LIFELINE AND ON THE LINE AMALGAMATE TO BETTER SUPPORT PEOPLE IN CRISIS

2min
page 44

Dementia is Not Just About Memory Loss

2min
page 44

Grape Expectations by Max Crus Foreign Correspondence.

3min
page 42

Erasing Homelessness: A Ten-Year Solution

3min
page 41

New Subdivisions in Brisbane Address Housing and Land Shortage Crisis

4min
page 40

2026 LEXUS LF-ZC AND LF-ZL CONCEPTS: NEXT-GENERATION ELECTRIC VEHICLES PLEDGE A 900KM DRIVING RANGE

3min
page 39

Sneak Peek at the Honda Prelude EV

1min
page 38

TOKYO MOTOR SHOW UNVEILS THE TOYOTA FT-SE ELECTRIC SPORTS CAR

1min
page 38

Driving the Great Ocean Road

2min
page 37

Global fertiliser markets looking calmer in 2024, despite Israel-Hamas confict uncertainty

5min
pages 36-37

New grants to help build resilient regional communities

3min
page 35

True colours: the art of breeding coloured sheep

2min
page 34

Plant protection guides out now for citrus and temperate fruit growers

2min
page 33

KATIE BROOKE SHARES NEW SINGLE ‘TOO FAR DOWN’ + ANNOUNCES FORTHCOMING SHOW DATES

2min
page 32

BEST ON THE BOX

3min
page 27

“Hats Off” to them.

5min
pages 25-26

RECENT CATTLE MARKET REPORTS

4min
pages 24-25

FEDERAL FIRE ANT FUNDING, CALLS FOR STATES TO COMMIT

1min
page 23

Gig economy, cost of living crisis and housing hostility: Young people are feeling worse off than their parents

2min
page 22

ATO secures additional $6.4 billion from large corporates

1min
page 22

Local talent, global impact: Cameron’s Kia ad editing win

2min
page 21

Pictures from the edge

4min
page 20

Outpatient cancer care report shows positive experiences of care for Northern NSW patients

4min
pages 19-20

North Coast students set to change the world in Game Changer Challenge

1min
page 19

Marine Rescue Brunswick to host food capability training exercise

1min
page 18

INNOVATIVE SAFETY SOLUTIONS FOR REGIONAL AUSTRALIA’S LEVEL CROSSINGS

2min
page 18

KEVIN HOGAN MP

10min
pages 14-18

Advertise your Christmas Salс

0
pages 12-14

Arts+Culture

4min
pages 11-12

Diary of a Flood Survivor

0
page 11

HUGE SHOW OF SUPPORT FOR BYRON BAY WILDLIFE HOSPITAL AT WILD AID 2023

3min
pages 10-11

Getting trains back on track

2min
pages 8-9

ANYONE UP FOR A GAME OF CROQUET?

2min
pages 6-7

Rob’s Bentleg celebrates 30th anniversary

3min
page 5

Invasive weed Tropical soda apple impacts Northern Rivers farmers

2min
page 4

HELICOPTER TEST FLIGHT SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED

2min
page 3

VALLEY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR TIMBER INDUSTRY

2min
page 2

JACARANDA KING CROWNING A FESTIVAL FIRST

1min
page 2
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