An exhibition of archival photographs from Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait) from the National Museum of Ethnology (Japan). 

Curated by the ANU Japan Zenadth Kes Project (JZK), GOTAT | GUTHATH | 時代の潮目 | Tides, will showcase never-before-exhibited photographs in a celebration of relationships and friendships spanning borders, cultures and time.

On display for the first time in Australia this exhibition of archival photographs captures a momentous era in Zenadth Kes (then Torres Strait) history—the 1970s—a period marked by profound political, social, and economic change, and of remarkable strength, resilience, and creativity by communities.

Photographs are from the George Ohshima Collection at the National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku), Japan. Professor Ohshima was a pioneering figure in Japanese Pacific Studies with connections to scholars world-wide including Australia and the ANU. His collection comprises over 10,000 images taken across Asia and the Pacific - of these, more than 2,000 were taken in Zenadth Kes offering a rare and vivid window into everyday life 50 years ago.

Professor George Ohshima and nine other Japanese researchers—the Torres Strait Kenkyūkai (study group)—visited every community in the region of Zenadth Kes. This exhibition commemorates the 50th anniversary since the Kenkyūkai began its field research in 1975. The exhibition also features photographs from the personal archives of other notable researchers in the Kenkyūkai: Dr Hironobu Kitaoji, Professor Hiroyuki Matsumoto and Dr Michiya Hata.

Exhibition, open daily, 13-22 June 2025, 11am - 4pm

International Panel Discussion, 13 June 2025, 12 pm-1pm
Speakers include Dr Annick Thomassin, Mr Ned David, Professor Norio Niwa, Dr Hiroko Cockerill, Dr Sara Kitaoji, Michael Passi. Panel Chair: Dr Julie Lahn.

Zenadth Kes style Weaving Workshops, 13, 14, 15 June 2025. 
With master weaver Mr Niki Mackie.  Registrations via Humanitix.

Digital Story (StoryMaps) https://arcg.is/0Cn8Xe

The ANU Japan Zenadth Kes Project

The exhibition is curated by the ANU Japan Zenadth Kes Project (JZK). The project is reconnecting contemporary Zenadth Kes communities with the significant body of archival scholarship created by the Torres Strait Kenkyūkai, including thousands of photographs, a 700-page monograph, maps, and song recordings from the 1970s.

The JZK Project is a partnership between ANU researchers and community-based researchers, academic colleagues at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka and traditional owner representatives on the Gur A Baradharaw Kod Torres Strait Sea and Land Council.

ANU JZK Project team members are Kinau Akiba, Abba Babia, Jacinta Baragud, Emily Beckley, Samantha Faulkner, Neville Johnston, Will Kepa, Julie Lahn, Yessie Mosby, Michael Passi, Annick Thomassin.

The JZK Project is supported by an Australia Japan Foundation grant, 'Rekindling Japanese-Torres Strait Connections: Celebrating fifty years'; the Return of Cultural Heritage Unit at The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant: ‘Valuing Torres Strait Knowledge through Sustainable Digital Returns’.