When Melbourne photographer Gray Tham called a group of women to pitch the idea of a show to help others aged over 50 understand their value, she got a glimpse of why her project was still needed.
Melbourne portrait photographer, Gray Tham, with subjects Mariam Issa and Kerryn Harvey, sets out to show the contributions of women aged 50 and over.Having absorbed messages about women past their fertile prime being less relevant in public discourse, and generally, some who wanted to get involved replied to her: “Gray I want to do your project, but I have nothing worthy to share.”
Although many of Australia’s most influential businesspeople are women over 50 – including new Qantas CEO, Vanessa Hudson, 53, Macquarie Group chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake, 61, and Tesla chair, Robyn Denholm, 60 – “everyday” women told her they could feel a loss of value, visibility and self-worth.
Tham did not have to look far for inspiration; one of her first subjects was her running trainer, Kerryn Harvey, 57.Harvey, from Melbourne, was on a cycling trip in Adelaide 10 years ago when she found herself fighting for life 30 hours after a minor accident. She needed emergency surgery for necrotising fasciitis , in which she lost an arm and shoulder.Harvey spent three months in hospital, and left with “not one muscle in my body”. “My fitness was a minus 10,” she says.