My Home, My History

The home life of Italian migrants who immigrated to the suburban southern suburbs of Brisbane before the 1970s is explored via photographic display.

Event Details

Event Type:

Theatre

Editorial Review

5-31 Jul 2008
Brisbane Square Library
266 George St, Brisbane

This photographic display snapshots the homes of Italian migrants who moved to Brisbane before the 1970s. The photos line the walls of the top floor of the Brisbane Square Library and are a little hard to notice behind the rows of books. (If you are facing the casino, start on the left, as there is an introduction to the collection).

The images portray the way the migrants tried to insert a little of the home country in to their suburban brick-walled existence. Paintings of Jesus and big beautiful wooden furniture look a little out of place in houses better suited to Kath and Kim. The photos are in more of a documentary style rather than as portraits, so it's important to read the quotes accompanying the shots to grasp their meaning. One especially touching story explains that one migrant returned to the old country only to realise that it wasn't what he remembered - and that Australia was now his home. These are the people who in some way shaped the southern suburbs of Brisbane and this is a worthy pictorial documentation of their antipodean homes.

Amy O'Brien (July 6th viewing)