Thancoupie (Gloria Fletcher) and Carole Johnson, 1974

In A book about Australian women, Jerrems allocates a double-page spread to these two creative leaders, photographed in a garden in Glebe, Sydney. Thainakuith ceramicist Dr Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher James AO (1937–2011) and American choreographer and dance educator Carole Johnson (b. 1940) are engaged in conversation, laughing and leaning toward each other. While the tone differs, this photograph has compositional similarities to the portrait of Evonne Goolagong Cawley and other iconic Jerrems works, with the figures spotlit against shadowed backgrounds, pulling the focus towards the subtleties of expression and body language. Aptly, both Thancoupie and Johnson are themselves deeply attentive to the dynamic potential of gesture and three-dimensional form. Thancoupie remains one of the foremost figures in Australian ceramics, while Johnson is celebrated for establishing the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association and co-founding Bangarra Dance Theatre.

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Gift of Mrs Joy Jerrems 1981.
© The Estate of Carol Jerrems