Jill Randall – Australia

I have been fascinated by the landscapes of Australia for a long time.

I remember seeing a photo of white ghost gum trees against bright red earth and a clear jewel-like blue sky.

Even earlier than this, as a child, I loved Westerns – not just the escapism from the East Midlands where I grew up , but a growing awareness that the landscape played a role like a character in the films – ever present and influencing everything .

Later on this theme was picked up on in films like ‘Paris, Texas’, (1984, Wim Wenders), and earlier, in a crop of influential Australia films like the innovative early Nicholas Roeg classic, ‘Walkabout’ , (1971) and ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ , (Peter Weir,1975) . There was a mystery about the Australian land and landscape, at once both sinister and exhilarating. Its complex character was quite different from Westerns, far more ancient, and characterised by Aboriginal perspectives and understanding of landscape, so totally different from anything I had experienced.