This photo essay explores life in the remote opal mining community of Yowah, in South West Queensland.

Opal mining has long attracted non-conformers and outliers. In the opal fields, one can encounter every kind of person—those drawn by the promise of finding treasure, by a need for solitude, or by the desire of reinvention. This body of work invites the viewer into the individual lives of an isolated and eccentric community.

As part of her artist residency in Yowah, Rachael immersed herself in the local community, photographing continuously over a six-month period. She hand-processed her negatives and established a desert darkroom and studio, from which all works in this series were printed.

This series was first exhibited within the local community of Yowah before being presented at M16 Artspace in Canberra.