Bindi Cole - photographer

Bindi Cole is an unlikely provocateur. Polite and witty, the Melbourne photographer waded into the turbulent waters of racial identity with her project Not Really Aboriginal, which addressed what it means to be a Victorian Indigenous person in the 21st century.

Bindi Cole spent her first eight years living with her musician mother in the heart of alternative St Kilda. She moved in with her paternal grandmother, an Aboriginal woman who had been part of the Stolen Generation, who supervised her schooling and gave her back her childhood.

In her early teens Bindi moved back in with her mother, but that year both her mother and her Nan died. Bindi left school and built a successful career in an international business management firm. Eventually Bindi needed a change and she headed overseas for three years of travel.

On her return Bindi studied photography, and her old interest became a vocation. She was a National Portrait Photography Prize finalist and a winner at the Victorian Indigenous Art Awards. She also shot and released a successful calendar of Aboriginal sports stars, Men In Black.

'Nan always told me, "You're Aboriginal and you should always tell people that you are". She wanted me to know that her heritage was my heritage, and instilled a real sense of pride in me about being Aboriginal. My Dad is not very black and I am very fair, but we are still who we are.'