Contact sheet (Virginia Fraser, Carol Jerrems, Ron Johnston), 1974

Writer, editor, artist and political activist Virginia Fraser (1947–2021) was Jerrems’ collaborator on A book about Australian women. The portraits in the book were carefully grouped by Jerrems between 12 sections of themed texts based on interviews conducted by Fraser with unnamed women. Meandering and evocative, these texts, like the photographs themselves, oscillate between the personal and the particular, and the idea of the collective.

Here, Fraser mucks about in a suburban Melbourne backyard, appearing relaxed with Jerrems, although their working relationship was not always straightforward. Her stance is guarded, but with her direct gaze she asserts herself as forthright and resolute. Rather than a portrait of Fraser as an individual, this sequence might be seen as a telling portrayal of the exchange that took place between photographer and writer over the course of the project.

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Gift of Mrs Joy Jerrems 1981.
© The Estate of Carol Jerrems