About

Buzz Gardiner (b. 1989) is an Australian-Solomon Island photographer, born and raised in Port Vila, Vanuatu. He lives in Bundjalung / Gold Coast, Queensland. Buzz’s work centres the Melanesian diaspora and with his work, he aims to shift the perception of Melanesia that has been fostered by decades of foreign representation. Informed by a strong desire to reclaim the visual narrative of Vanuatu, where he was born and lived until he was 16 years old, and the Solomon Islands, the land of his family on his mother’s side, Buzz’s practice began in 2020. Closure of international borders due to covid meant that he was unable to travel to the islands to make work, so instead he looked for possible points of intersection in Australia. His focus became the Solomon Island Diaspora, and the practice of blackbirding (the history of forced labour of people taken mainly from Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands). This work, called Banyan Coast, introduced Buzz to the photography and visual arts community. He has since been invited to participate in several industry initiatives, awards and exhibitions, including sitting as committee member for judging the Australian Photography Awards (2022) and participating as a speaker at “New Dialogues in Photography’’ hosted by Photo Collective (2022). An emerging photographer with no formal training, Buzz has already exhibited both nationally and internationally, with the most significant being ‘Walking through the Darkness’, a group show at Centre of Contemporary Photography (CCP) Melbourne. Recognition of this work by artistic peers provided the opportunity to speak about his practice to a wider audience via media interviews on ABC Radio Australia, Smart Arts by Triple R, and through a feature on Artshub. Buzz recently joined the Pacific Centre for Photographic Arts (PCPA) as an advisor and Diversify Photo Collective as a full member, achievements that help him connect with cultural peers.