ABOUT
/Mem
My photographic practice is focused on science communication and creative arts practice, documenting both historical and conservation sciences.
After completing degrees in history and education, I became interested not only in the processes of historical science (surveying, excavating, interpreting, curating, and displaying the past), but also how the rituals of archaeology and palaeontology (alongside the scientists themselves) are represented through visual ethnography and art practice.
In 2018, I completed a doctoral degree in visual art at Griffith University, which focused on photographic representations of palaeontological fieldwork.
My current photographic work interweaves stories from the prehistoric record with stories of animals living 'on the edge' in the present. Collaborating with the Queensland Museum, Capricorn Caves, and wildlife carers, the series Land of the Macropod/Road to Extinction? documents the story of the Australian kangaroo from the fossil record to its tenuous ecological position in the contemporary landscape.
I have worked in academia as a lecturer and tutor in art history and photography at Griffith University; as a cultural heritage consultant for Australian Heritage Specialists (AHS); as an archaeology field assistant and photographer in Greece; and as a research assistant in the areas of both museum studies and photomedia at the Queensland University of Technology.
I am currently involved in cultural heritage consultancy; NGO research (CREATE Foundation); and also volunteer in wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and research.
Education
Ornithology (Zoology), Charles Sturt University (Commenced 2022)
Ph.D. Visual Art (Photo)/Visual Anthropology, Griffith University, 2018
Bachelor of Arts (History), QUT, 2004
Bachelor of Education, QUT, 2004
Work/Experience
2022
2021
2020
Wildlife Volunteering:
2019
Wildlife Volunteering:
2017-2019
Wildlife Volunteering:
2009-2016
2012-2018
2009-2012
2011
2005-2009
2004
Residencies
Creative Scholarship (Exhibitions/Conferences)
Organisations
My photographic practice is focused on science communication and creative arts practice, documenting both historical and conservation sciences.
After completing degrees in history and education, I became interested not only in the processes of historical science (surveying, excavating, interpreting, curating, and displaying the past), but also how the rituals of archaeology and palaeontology (alongside the scientists themselves) are represented through visual ethnography and art practice.
In 2018, I completed a doctoral degree in visual art at Griffith University, which focused on photographic representations of palaeontological fieldwork.
My current photographic work interweaves stories from the prehistoric record with stories of animals living 'on the edge' in the present. Collaborating with the Queensland Museum, Capricorn Caves, and wildlife carers, the series Land of the Macropod/Road to Extinction? documents the story of the Australian kangaroo from the fossil record to its tenuous ecological position in the contemporary landscape.
I have worked in academia as a lecturer and tutor in art history and photography at Griffith University; as a cultural heritage consultant for Australian Heritage Specialists (AHS); as an archaeology field assistant and photographer in Greece; and as a research assistant in the areas of both museum studies and photomedia at the Queensland University of Technology.
I am currently involved in cultural heritage consultancy; NGO research (CREATE Foundation); and also volunteer in wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and research.
Education
Ornithology (Zoology), Charles Sturt University (Commenced 2022)
Ph.D. Visual Art (Photo)/Visual Anthropology, Griffith University, 2018
Bachelor of Arts (History), QUT, 2004
Bachelor of Education, QUT, 2004
Work/Experience
2022
- Research/Influencing Officer - CREATE Foundation
- Native Bird Rehabilitation (DES Permit, Wildcare/B.I.R.O)
- Wildlife Rescue (RSPCA Animal Rescue Unit, and Wildcare)
- WIRES Wildlife Rescue Certificate
- Queensland Bird Research and Banding Group (BQ)
- Birds QLD member
- BirdLife Australia member
- Wildlife QLD member
2021
- Research/Influencing Officer - CREATE Foundation
- Native Bird Rehabilitation (DES Permit, Wildcare)
- Wildlife Rescue (Wildcare), and (RSPCA Animal Rescue Unit)
- BirdLife Australia Member
2020
- Photographer/Researcher (with Queensland Museum and wildlife carers)
- Research/Influencing Officer - CREATE Foundation
- Language Assistant (Recording) - Yugara-Yugarapul Aboriginal Corporation
Wildlife Volunteering:
- BirdLife Australia - Bird Survey (Texas, Q.L.D) (January)
- Wildcare Australia - Bird Rehabilitation Permit (DES)
- Wildcare Australia - Rescue and Emergency Care Permit (DES)
- Coomalong Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release
- RSPCA Animal Rescue Unit (Ambulance)
2019
- Photographer/Researcher - Capricorn Caves and Queensland Museum - Brisbane and Rockhampton
- Language Assistant (Recording) - Yugara-Yugarapul Aboriginal Corporation
- Research Officer - CREATE Foundation
Wildlife Volunteering:
- Queensland Parks and Wildlife Volunteer - Bridled Nailtail Wallaby Survey and Translocation - Taunton National Park, QLD
- Wildcare Australia Inc. (Rescue and Emergency Care Permit)
- Coomalong Wildlife Rescue and Rehab - Brisbane
- Animal Rescue Unit - RSPCA Ambulance - Wacol
- Stanthorpe Fire Assistance - Granite Belt Wildlife Carers
2017-2019
- Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Consultant - Australian Heritage Specialists - Beaudesert, Caboolture, and Carnarvon Gorge, QLD
Wildlife Volunteering:
- Wildcare Australia Inc.
- Coomalong Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release
- RSPCA Domestic Vet Hospital
- Birds Queensland - Bird Banding
2009-2016
- Associate Lecturer and Tutor - Art History, Art Theory, Photography - Queensland Collage of Art, Griffith University - Brisbane and Gold Coast
2012-2018
- Doctor of Philosophy - Palaeontological Fieldwork and the Photographic Image - Documentary Practice/Visual Anthropology/Visual Art -
2009-2012
- Gallery Activity Assistant - Queensland Art Gallery (QAG)/Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) - Brisbane
2011
- Archaeology Field Assistant and Photographer - Kytherian Research Group (KRG) - Greece
2005-2009
- Masters of Visual Art (Photo) with First Class Honours - Photography and Archaeology - Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
- Research Assistant - Photomedia - Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
- Allchromes Colour Laboratory - Black and White Printing - Brisbane
2004
- Bachelor of Arts (History) (Distinction)/ Bachelor of Education (Honours) - Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane
- Research Assistant - Learning from Museums - School of Languages and Cultural Studies - Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane
Residencies
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History - Winton, QLD
- Queensland Museum Megafauna Dig - South Walker Creek, QLD
- Lark Quarry Conservation Park - Winton, QLD
- Queensland Museum Megafauna Site - Capricorn Caves, Rockhampton
- Kronosaurus Korner Museum - Richmond, QLD
- Kytherian Research Group - We Dig Kythira - Kythera, Greece
- Back O' Bourke Centre - Bourke Shire Council, NSW
Creative Scholarship (Exhibitions/Conferences)
- Georgia On My Mind, (Macropus rufus/Red Kangaroo) - (Part of the Group Exhibition and Auction: Framing The Future) The Studio, Paddington, Brisbane (2019)
- Land of the Macropod/Road to Extinction? - (Part of the Group Exhibition: Women, The Strength, The Land, The Lifeline) Boonah Regional Art Gallery (2019)
- Digging On the Other Side of Dinosaurs - Ph.D. Solo Exhibition - Pop Gallery - Fortitude Valley, Brisbane (2018)
- Art Meets Science - Group Exhibition - Ecosciences Precinct - Dutton Park, Brisbane (2016)
- The Incomplete Dinosaur - The Hold Artspace, West End, Brisbane (2015)
- Aesthetics of Digging paper presented at Geocritical Conference - Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ), Launceston (2014)
- Dawn of Time for the Second Time - Queensland Centre for Photography (QCP), South Brisbane (2013)
- What Remains of The Day/Bourke - Pop Gallery, Woolloongabba (2012)
- What Remains of The Day/Greece - Pop Gallery, Woolloongabba (2012)
- Historic Bourke Motel - Back O' Bourke Exhibition Centre, Bourke NSW (2012)
- Masr: A Journey Through Egypt - Project Gallery, Queensland College of Art (2010)
Organisations
- Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ)
- Australasian Association of Digital Humanities (AADH)
- Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (WPSQ)
- B.I.R.O (Birds Injured, Rehabilitated, Orphaned Associated)
- Wildcare Australia Inc.
- BirdLife Australia and S.E QLD
- Birds QLD
Elise Hilder