Nilmini De Silva, Struggling to Survive (LANDSCAPE 2025)

These are three aerial images that were taken with my DJI Mini 3 Pro Drone in the Mallee Country of Western Victoria. I called the series ‘Bush Survival’ because the narrative in these images are metaphors for what life is like in remote parts of the Australian Bush. People who thrive in these areas have learnt to be resilient to whatever the environment throws at them. They live far away from their closest neighbours often on huge properties with just their animals and a few co-workers for company. Many people in the city have little understanding of what it is like to battle both floods and droughts and to be so dependent on what the climate brings. Long before Europeans came here, Aboriginal people also learnt to thrive in these harsh conditions. But perhaps the main difference was their semi-nomadic simple existence that enabled them to move if the season demanded it. The criss-crossing of emu and other animal foot prints in the images reminds me that waterholes such as these were essential for the survival of the other species that inhabited the bush.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.