'This special issue emerges from a much-deferred symposium in December 2020 in the midst of the Covid pandemic, that took place, like so much in the Anthropocene, in a strained atmosphere of both anxiety and hope. While the symposium unfolded on-line – we had hope, but not wild optimism – it was in dialogue with an exhibition of Nicole’s landscape photography, Deerubbin at Dawn: River lives on the Hawkesbury, that was firmly located in situ. The show, part of Sydney’s annual Head On Festival of photography, took place at an art gallery not half an hour’s train ride from the river. This council-run arts centre aimed to display the work of locals and art which represented their neighbourhood. The exhibition was programmed, no doubt, with a sense that it would speak to the affection of local residents for the waterway that flanks Hornsby Shire, passing through unceded Guringai, Garigal, Dharug and Darkinjung land.' (Introduction)
