Moments of intersection: James Tylor

If you spend more than a few hours with Adelaide-based photographer James Tylor, conversation will inevitably turn to culture: its meanings, definitions and the way in which our heritage tends to define our perception of self and others' understanding of us. As a man of Aboriginal, Mãori and British descent, these issues have been central to many of Tylor’s experiences growing up in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the far west of New South Wales. The points at which these bloodlines intersect lie at the heart of Tylor’s practice as he explores his hybrid identity, attempting to find a balance between these three cultures and both his contemporary experience and personal understandings of them. Tylor joins an increasing number of artists working in this area, such as Julie Gough, Lorraine Connelly-Northey and Jason Wing. Each of these practitioners acknowledges their diverse backgrounds and examines the ways in which their multi-racial heritage affects their individual identity.