Curator Hannah Presley Gives A Peak Through The Exhibition: The Veil
NITV Radio speaks with Senior Curator Hanna Presley for upcoming exhibition at the Buxton Contemporary, The Veil. Hannah shares with us her though process in curating First Nations and International artists, reflects on her past collaborations and gives insights into this exhibition, The Veil. "There's something also really special about pulling an exhibition together, and having artists where their works talk to each other not just because they are indigenous but because they are creating exceptional works that have story-lines that connect"
The veil is a major new exhibition at Buxton Contemporary featuring artists Hayley Millar Baker , Hannah Gartside , Aneta Grzeszykowska , Glenda Nicholls , Lisa Waup and Lena Yarinkura , running from 27 June to 1 November 2025.
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News.com.au
11 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Jōhatsu: Inside the mysterious phenomenon of Japan's vanishing people
Ever wanted to disappear? Maybe you're drowning in debt. Or your toxic job is grinding you into the ground. That loveless marriage. There are many reasons why people can feel the urge to vanish. For good. But in Japan, these people all go by the same special name. 'Johatsu'. The evaporated. They choose to abandon everything – their lives, jobs, homes and families – for a chance to start again. It's a real-life vanishing act. Disconnected from their past, these lost souls can spend decades in the shadows of society. Without ever looking back. Since the mid-1990s, Japan has recorded around 80,000 Johatsu each year. It's a dark mirror on the invisible pressure these people face to conform. But where do they go? What happens to who they leave behind? And what can it teach us about missing people in Australia? Shame of failure Johatsu: Into Thin Air is a recent documentary charting this mysterious phenomenon. It took Berlin-based film makers Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori over six years to complete the sensitive project. To protect the privacy of the Johatsu, the movie was released under strict conditions: it will never be publicly screened in Japan. It's screening in Melbourne next month. Mori, who was born in Japan, told the idea of Johatsu is universal – despite its unique cultural roots. 'We've all thought about disappearing from our lives before,' said Mori. In Japan, this desire can be driven by infamously high social expectations. The shame of failing to meet them – through divorce, debt, job loss or failing an exam – can feel like a stain that will never be wiped clean. This includes a workplace culture where quitting is considered shameful. Despite demands to work hours so long they can be deadly. The pressure to conform to such norms is so powerful, evaporating feels like the only solution. Under cover of darkness Despite running away from everyone, the Johatsu don't go it alone. In fact, they turn to what's called a 'night mover'. It's the job of the night movers to spirit people to new, secret locations under cover of darkness. They're all about doing things discreetly. Night movers can make their job look like an abduction. Make homes look like they've been robbed. And make paper trails or financial transactions go away. It's a whole economy for those who want never to be found. And while the johatsu might be shrouded in mystery, the night movers are not hard to find. With easily accessed websites and offices, they operate in plain view. As for the people the Johatsu leave behind? There's a service for them, too. Just don't expect it from the boys in blue. Unless a crime occurred, police refuse to get involved. 'It can be very difficult to get assistance from the local police due to Japanese privacy laws,' says Hartmann. 'Many people seek assistance from private investigators to help find missing people. This is basically the opposite of a night mover.' 'Rather die' Japan has a rich cultural history of saving face. 'Japan has a long history of people killing themselves to preserve their honour,' says Mori. 'Even now, you still hear of it happening. These people would rather die than live in shame.' Disappearing is an attractive alternative. While it may put their families through the pain of uncertainty, at least it protects them from the crushing costs of suicide. In Japan, relatives become liable for a suicide's debt. They may also be hit with huge fees from the management of the building or train from where they meet their fate. 'While Johatsu can be seen as a form of suicide, they're in fact opposites,' says Mori. 'Johatsu is the act of choosing not to die but live.' Not the end of the story Indeed, the belief in a fresh start speaks to hope as much as despair. But it's not the end of the story. Into Thin Air paints a bleak picture of evaporated life. Some Johatsu live in tiny, squalid accommodation, and work dodgy, off-the-books jobs. Opening up this experience in itself can be cathartic. 'It was an opportunity for these people to finally share their story, which they have kept to themselves for a very long time,' says Hartmann. 'The filmmaking was a kind of therapy for them.' This therapy can be sorely needed. Because the feelings of sadness and regret haunt the Johatsu long after they leave their lives behind. 'Their second lives are of course not totally happy ones, but there is something positive about it,' says Mori. Ambiguous loss Some Johatsu long for what they lost, watching their families as if from behind a frosted glass door they can never open. It's no less painful than what their families endure themselves – a unique kind of grief known as 'ambiguous loss'. Without knowing where Johatsu go, they never get closure. And this dark cycle can repeat itself. 'We've also noticed that disappearances in families are repeated in cycles,' says Hartmann. 'Many relatives of the disappeared go on to disappear. Or the disappeared turn out to have a parent go missing growing up. One Johatsu in the film is under the hallucination she is being stalked. But for others, the threat– a stalker, gangster or knife-wielding ex – is very real. The documentary opens with a stense scene in which a man fleeing a possessive partner is bundled inside a night mover's van. 'These people are often fleeing debt, domestic violence, the mafia or family problems' Hartmann says. 'They simply want to start afresh in a new place where nobody knows them.' But often, Hartmann said the Johatsu were simply motivated by a consuming sense of alienation. 'Sometimes people just don't feel they belong.' Cautionary tale Japan is the perfect place to disappear. Unlike Australia, the country has no national database for missing people. It's also against the law for police to access ATM transactions or financial records without a warrant. 'The great value of privacy makes Japan an ideal place to lead an anonymous life,' says Hartmann. The idea of the Johatsu is not foreign to Western Cultures. In the US, Hartmann refers to a crisis management professional who helps celebrities disappear. He also says Japanese night movers are now helping people relocate overseas. With costs of living and working hours climbing in Australia, we're not immune to the danger of a disappearing trend. With costs of living and working hours climbing in Australia, we're not immune to the danger of a disappearing trend. That's where the most potent message of Into Thin Air – that it's never too late to reconcile – can bring hope. After almost four decades after disappearing, one Johatsu in the film is seen reconnecting with his family. 'This story showed us there's always hope for reconciliation,' says Hartmann. 'We would be very grateful if anyone watching this film got a new perspective on their problems,' Mori.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair asks you 'Pay Attention'
In the heart of Cairns' Botanic Gardens, where World War II oil tanks rise amid lush rainforest, the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CAIF) returns to its birthplace this July with the powerful theme Pay Attention. CIAF curator Bruce Johnson McLean explains why this year's fair feels like a homecoming and how artist Tony Albert has shaped his curatorial vision. Then Juanita Page, a proud Goreng Goreng and South Sea Islander woman breaking barriers in Australian menswear demonstrates why she embodies this year's NAIDOC Week theme: The Next Generation. Plus for Word Up, Stuart Joel Nugget returns to share the Jingili word for "old man." For more information on the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair CIAF click here.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Tulloch Lodge import Elamaz leaves bookies reeling
Elamaz landed a sizeable betting plunge to give trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott a stable-best season of stakes wins and provide jockey Josh Parr with the third leg of a winning treble at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. The former French galloper was backed from $4.60 earlier in the week into $2.15 favouritism and made all from the front to win at his Australian debut in the Listed $200,000 WJ McKell Cup (2000m). Although Elamaz's winning margin was only slender – he had a short head to spare from the fast finishing Belvedere Boys – the five-year-old gelding created a big impression with his rider. 'I am quite taken by him,'' Parr said. 'His demeanour was good, his action remarkable. 'The interesting part of it all is I wanted to be as kind as possible to him so he could get the 2000m first time on dry ground. 'Our plan wasn't to lead, we were looking for cover but cover wasn't going to eventuate so I pressed on to the front, trusted the stable and how well they had him, and he did the rest. 'There was a period down the side where he had no clue where he was leading the race at Rosehill but he fought off every challenger. What a brilliant performance by him,'' Elamaz improved his race record to five wins and three seconds from just eight starts when he held off Belvedere Boys ($6.50) to score an exciting win with Glory Daze ($5.50) one-and-a-half lengths away third. First Australian win, and what a way to do it! 🇦🇰 Elamaz hangs on in a McKell Cup thriller! 🥳ðŸ�† That's three winners to @JoshuaParr8 at Rosehill today! @GaiWaterhouse1 @aus_turf_club — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 28, 2025 Waterhouse prepared her sixth win in the McKell Cup after previous successes with Grand Connection (1995), We're Dancing (2002), Ecuador (2016), Hush Writer (2019) and Zoumon (2023). Elamaz gave Bott his third winner in the race since forming a training partnership with the Hall of Famer nearly a decade ago. The boom French import's win also provided Waterhouse and Bott with their 36th Group or Listed win for the 2024-25 season, a career-best for the training partnership. Elamaz is raced in similar interests to stablemate Eliyass, who also came from France with a record of six wins and two second placings from eight starts before he won the Lord Mayor's Cup over the Rosehill 2000m course at his Australian debut 12 months ago. Eliyass trained on to win the Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes defeating Ceolwulf then ran third to champion mare Via Sistina in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes. There are obvious similarities between Eliyass and new stable recruit Elamaz which had not raced beyond 1600m in France before winning the McKell Cup first-up at 2000m. Bott was interstate and Waterhouse overseas but their stable representative, Neil Paine, said the trainers have a very high opinion of Elamaz. 'Elamaz is an excellent horse. We were confident he would win today, albeit he fell in,'' Paine said. 'We actually didn't think he would lead. Josh was given open instructions by Gai and Adrian, so it's good the horse has another string to his bow that he can lead, he can run 2000m and he can win on a firm track. They are all plusses. 'And what can you say about Gai and Adrian, they do it all the time with these horses from overseas. We seem to have luck with them first-up. 'Sir Delius won first-up, so did Eliyass last year. Gai and Adrian bought four at the Goffs Sale recently and they have all gone to our owners. We love them.' Paine said Elamaz is obviously extremely versatile and could be aimed at either the Epsom Handicap (1600m) or The Metropolitan (2400m) in the spring. 'They were 'umming and ahhing' what to do after this, whether to give him a bit of a break and bring him back (for the spring),'' Paine said. 'If he had of got beaten he probably would have had another run because our aim was to get him up in the ratings for the better races. 'But now that he has won this race that will help him get his rating up so Gai and Adrian will talk about what to do with him. A hard mile might be his go but who knows, he's a very nice horse.'' Elamaz also provided Parr with his third win of the day after the jockey won earlier on Rolling Magic and Thunderlips. 'I have been going to Brisbane and it has been a whitewash to be honest. I had a bit of luck early with Bosustow and then it was downhill from there,'' Parr said. 'It just slowed my momentum up so I was really happy to take a good book of rides here today and they have turned up and delivered for me.''
