Artists

Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices was created by Western Sydney artists Marty Walker and Peter Long.

Marty Walker

Marty Walker is an Australian photographer based in the Blue Mountains. His work is held in both private and public collections. He has shown his work in group exhibitions such as HeadOn, Vivid, About Town and Blue Mountains Portraits.

Marty also designed the catalogue for the Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices project. He can be reached at the following places.

• Instagram
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Marty Walker Photography Website

Testimonial

"Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices was a unique opportunity to experience the diversity of cultures in the St Marys area. It was a pleasure to be invited into the homes and community spaces of our participants to absorb and photograph the camaraderie, good humour and sharing nature built around dancing, music history and, of course, food.

What interested me about this project from a photographic perspective was the similarities between groups. As we did these sessions, the differences between these six women became lesser. There were more similarities than differences. What I think was apparent to both of us was their enthusiasm, pride and caring about beautiful food. They were just very, very welcoming."

Peter Long

Peter Long is a practicing musician, composer, educator and graphic artist residing in the upper Blue Mountains. A PhD candidate at Western Sydney University, his research investigates the aesthetic experience of spatio-temporal suspension and its application in popular music and imagery, culminating in the release of the 2015 album Sounds of In-Between and the site-specific audio-visual performance work States Of Suspension at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in February 2018. He completed a first class honours degree in a Bachelor of Music at Western Sydney University in 2014 and has presented research at conferences in Spain, New Zealand and Australia. His music, often described as ‘transcendent’ has featured in the soundtrack to the independent film The Last Babushka Doll and the latest MTNS MADE promotional videos. He is currently engaged in producing a series of soundscape stories in conjunction with photographer Marty Walker for the Queen Street Riches and Textures project for Penrith City Council and teaches at Abbey Street Music.

• Peter's Website 
• Peter's online journal 

Testimonial

"As a musician and sound artist, the Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices project has opened my ears and eyes to the rich diversity of cultures represented in the St Marys region and the myriad of stories woven throughout meals created by participants in the project.

What surprised me was that despite the many different nationalities represented in the project, there were common threads that linked them all: the importance of family and the rituals inherent in meal preparation.

I was astonished how often ingredients and cooking techniques were widespread among cultures despite quite different locales. I was also interested to observe how families adapted their own cultures to an ‘Australian’ way of life without compromising their essential identity, which only reinforces the idea for me that culture is something that exists quite apart from geographical location or the delineation of a border.

I am grateful to each family in granting Marty and myself permission to enter their homes and I hope that these soundscapes convey something of the wonderful aromas, flavours, music and stories made available to us."