Carol Carter

Carol Carter

Carol Carter trained as a visual arts teacher and later in her career became Head Teacher of Creative and Performing Arts at a secondary high school. Her interest in Aboriginal sites in Yengo National Park began in the early 1980s, when she started photographing engraving sites. At that time, she worked mainly with black-and-white film, using fill-in flash at night to illuminate the rock surface at a low angle. This method revealed the fine details of the engravings, while long exposures captured the surrounding landscape, placing the works in their broader context.

These sites were little known at the time, as her formal study of Aboriginal art had not included them. Motivated as an educator, she was determined to share her images with students and the wider community - an approach that eventually led to her collaboration with Uncle Warren Taggart.

Today, Carol continues this work in partnership with her husband, Allan Chawner, using updated digital techniques. Allan operates the camera while Carol works with video lighting, moving the light across the rock to highlight engravings and reveal the surrounding landscape. Together, they also document rock shelters, grinding grooves, and stone arrangement sites.

In addition to her photographic practice, Carol researches historical records of Aboriginal art sites and contributes to survey work aimed at identifying and recording new locations. She also serves as the team’s writer, ensuring that the stories, histories, and cultural context of the work are clearly communicated.