My relationship with my wife's Australian family in South East Queensland is close although only 6 years old. The sense of family I have experienced here is very different from my own family in France. My Australian family has accepted me and they are not afraid to speak what is on their mind and behave without pretense. This intimacy is refreshing and hopefully reflected in the images. The extended blended family has complex issues and is not always in the same location so this posed some difficulties with capturing the images and interactions.
Family is important to my wife, not in practicality but in the sense of what it means to belong to a community. Although her family is not related it does not belie the closeness and unity felt by all. They are connected by blood, history, dependence and The subjects agreed to participate in the project out of consideration for me and the role I play in her life. It was difficult at first to become invisible and not capture a poised, posed faux version of their life. Over a short time the inhibitions disappeared and I was able to capture the images that told the story of this contemporary Australian family.
