Images of disillusionment, poverty
A bong half-filled with dirty water. A drug user's filthy bathtub. Trolleys cluttering what is supposed to be the local skate park.
These are some of the confronting images snapped by 20 Aboriginal primary school children supplied with disposable cameras and asked to document their experiences, including what interested and inspired them.
Not all images were bleak, with some reflecting on the importance of friends and their love of nature. But the words used to describe even some apparently up-beat photos were, at times, heartbreaking.
"I took this photo because colourful things can warm your heart," wrote a nine-year-old boy who snapped an image of blooming flowers. "As a kid, I feel that a lot of people have come into my life and made it colourful for a while. But it all fades away when they leave."
The principal of the school that took part in the Save the Children Australia Photovoice project, which cannot be named, said some images were "confronting".
"It gave us an insight into the lives of these students and their life experiences, some parts of which we had no idea about," she said, adding it had been a positive experience.
The photos are on display at Perth Town Hall to September 23.
Race, discrimination and disenfranchisement were common themes.
Two of then children who took part in the project.
A 12-year-old boy who took a "selfie" with the Aboriginal flag spoke of his frustration with perceptions of Aboriginal people.
"I took this photo because it represents who I am," he said.
"I feel proud to be Aboriginal and I wish people stopped talking down to us."
A 10-year-old boy pictured with friends complained of being approached by police. "They often chase us for no reason," he wrote. "This makes me feel angry. I think they chase us because we are Aboriginal and we are a different culture to them."
Children wrote of being at "druggie houses", being offered marijuana by friends' parents and feeling intimidated.
"This is the first time I've seen a bottle that hasn't been broken," wrote an 11-year-old girl of her beer bottle photo. "Once they get drunk, lots of people end up throwing bottles around to break them. Most of the time they end up throwing them at each other."
In contrast to the grittiness, some photos could have been taken by anyone enjoying an outdoors moment.
"I feel peaceful when I see the waves," a 12-year-old girl wrote of her beach snap. "When the waves crash, it makes me remember all the fantastic times I spent with my friends."
Of his photo of a lemon tree, an 11-year-old boy wrote simply: "I decided to take this photo because sometimes life can be sour."
'This is a photo of the skate park. I feel sorry for the people who come here because of the things they are exposed to like drugs and alcohol.'
