Gamilaraay singer-songwriter Thelma Plum has attained popular and
critical notoriety as a musician but has also made her mark as a vocal
advocate for First Nations rights and representation. Plum rose to
prominence with her highly acclaimed 2019 debut album Better in Blak
in which she addresses her experiences as a young Aboriginal woman in
Australia. In photojournalist Em Jensen’s portrait, Plum appears within a
remote landscape on Wilyakali Country in far-west New South Wales. The
colouration of the print is seductive, with the warm hues of Plum’s
outfit and the dusty earth tones of her surroundings offset by a
turquoise blue sky as the day shifts into dusk. There is a disarming
directness to Plum’s gaze that conveys a sense of strength and intensity
not unlike that found in her music. Another photograph from this
sitting was selected as the cover image for Plum’s second studio album I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back, released in October 2024, which won best pop release at the 2025 ARIA Music Awards.
Purchased with funds provided by Gerard Harnan & Kelly West 2026
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