Light Journeys presents Lauren Hewitt
Light Journeys is proud to present emerging photographer Lauren Hewitt as our first featured artist for 2010:
from the series The Gloaming
(courtesy Lauren Hewitt)
Light Journeys presents Cindy Godden
Light Journeys is proud to present Singapore based photographer Cindy Godden as our featured artist for December:
from the series Market up Top
(courtesy Cindy Godden)
Overload
Goodness, so much going on that I’ve been neglecting the blog for a while. I’ve been thinking about whether or not to continue writing this once the Masters has finished (which it will be early next year finally!)… Maybe I will continue it in a different way…. Cross that bridge when I get to it no doubt.
Anyway, in the meantime some updates:
- Didn’t make the Top 50 in Critical Mass 09 but am pretty happy nevertheless with being a finalist. Got some really interesting feedback too so am thinking more about this now and where and how I want to push my work.
- Did make it into the National Photographic Portrait Prize (NPPP) for 2010 though (finally!), so am feeling that the efforts are of course worthwhile (I don’t care who you are but knockbacks can be disappointing).
- Have had some very interesting Skype conversations with Charles Freger of POC in France this last week. He has given me some excellent feedback about my work and style in general and it’s been interesting to hear him talk about ‘attitude’ in the process of making photographs. That in my case, I need to define my own attitude and further develop consistency in my visual language. I’m thinking that as a result I am going to STOP looking at other people’s work for a while because everything you do can be a trace of someone’s else’s trace. To be a truly original voice is no easy task but I think being true to yourself might be a step in the right direction (as corny as it sounds)… ie. make pictures for yourself and no-one else.
- And lastly, I’ve almost done with the dissertation. Two weeks off to focus was great (despite being terribly distracted!) and I realised that balancing one’s art-practice with work and family and all the other pressures that go with modern life, really isn’t easy. Persistence however is the key. And I still have to write the exegesis (aka studio report)! I am so looking forward to actually graduating! Let’s hope I manage this one…..
Charles Freger (from the series Empire)
Hip Pop with United Galleries in Sydney
I’ve got some work up in a group show called Hip Pop, United Galleries‘ annual charity show. It’s showing in the Saatchi & Saatchi foyer at the Rocks, so go check it out if you are in Sydney (also check out the view of the Opera House from the window… fantastic!) It’s a mixed media show and I’m one of three photographers, the other two being Stephen Dupont and Ben Ali Ong. The exhibition runs through until the 27th November. There’s also an interview I did with Happenstance Magazine that’s posted on their blog.
Light Journeys presents Nikki Toole
Light Journeys is proud to present Melbourne based photographer Nikki Toole as our featured artist for November:
from the series Skater (Phase 1: the Stance)
(courtesy of Nikki Toole)
CM09 Artist Watch
OK, so the quiet on this front is not because I have ceased writing this blog but because I get nearer to D-Day everyday and I still have the proverbial shitload of work to do…. but I couldn’t resist posting my pick of the Critical Mass 09 entrants – all 575 of them whose entries (including yours truly) arrived neatly packaged on a CD all the way from the USandA. Don’t worry I definitely won’t be posting all 575! Just 15 of my faves… and yes, I went through all 575 of them!! And despite the overall caliber being pretty good (some of it a little repetitive and honestly, some of it pretty bad) my favourites belonged to the following photographers and really appealed to my aesthetic sensibilities….
One interesting observation is the number of works that explore ideas of belonging and connection to place (similar themes to my work in Belco). Maybe this is a reflection of my Generation (X) and the fact that we are all nearing the big 40….? Mortality inevitably looms and we start to think about how we fit in the big jigsaw that is our crazy, beautiful world…. and what better place to start than where we grew up? Odes to origins…. yeah….
Anyway, take a look for yourself:
And other than fellow photographer and e-buddy Rebecca Dagnall, I think I was the only Aussie! The submissions were mostly from Americans but it was peppered with some interesting work from Canada, Europe and South America. It’ll be interesting to see who makes the final Top 50….
Light Journeys presents Kylie Ruszczynski
Light Journeys is proud to present Paris based, Australian artist Kylie Ruszczynski as our featured artist for October:
from the series Solar Tetes
(courtesy of Kylie Ruszczynski)
Suburban goings on….. sort of, not really.
Well I’ve been kinda slack…… not much going on or if there is I ain’t noticing. So can I be honest and say that I’m actually feeling a little flat and have a major case of not being arsed to do anything! I mean don’t get me wrong – a lot is happening – and really it is all good, but hey, even photographers get tired sometimes I should think….
Anyway, just a quick hello, and no I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth (though that could be interesting). I’m sharing some pics here from some recently returned films – you may recall a few posts earlier I had some digital pics of a Sudanese family here in Belco… Kinda weird but wonderful to photograph another culture in my own community. I’ve often felt slightly uncomfortable photographing overseas (you can’t help but not – especially when you consider how you fit in the power schema of things between yourself (with a giant camera ’stealing souls’) and those whose homes you might be visiting and whose photographs you might also be taking. I’m not sure yet, if it’s different here, but I definitely feel on a more even keel. Plus, here the families are asking me to photograph them, so that also changes the dynamic somewhat. Plus I speak suburban so that really helps 
I tell you conversation about kids, home decoration and the merits/wonders of mobile phones can do wonders to building relationships – let’s face it that is something we pretty much all have in common…
The Duot Family outside their home.
Aker in traditional costume.
Ngor and Matot
One of the good things going on is that I got in as a finalist for Critical Mass 09 (made it into the top 175 at least) and did fork over the big bucks to go on to the second phase, which will culminate in a Top 50 plus 3 winners of a book publication deal plus massive exposure, so please wish me happy thoughts! It’ll be great just to have my work seen by more than 200 jurors from all over the photography world, so I am pretty chuffed about this (though somewhat the poorer…. I’ve figured that by now, this is the life of a photographer… every cent and dollar goes back into making photographs and frankly I wouldn’t have it any other way… well, except the bit about making money from my work, which would be quite OK with me!).
Oh and lastly, for those travellers to Light Journeys, I apologise for the downtime on the site. We’ve had a few technical hitches with our host company changing servers. Hopefully we will be back online within 24 hours. Thanks for your patience.
Light Journeys presents Robyn Stacey
Light Journeys is proud to present Sydney based artist Robyn Stacey as our featured artist for September:
from the series Empire Line
(courtesy of Robyn Stacey)
Collecting Photography Books
I’ve just gone a little bezerk over at Amazon and the Book Depository…. Bit dangerous shopping online isn’t but I finally gave in to the wish lists and bought the lot. I figure… what the hell, I’ve got a ‘permanent’ job now (God that sounds so…. incarcerating!) and so am supposedly an upstanding tax-paying citizen…. well, I’m defending myself against the dreaded affluenza but then again books surely don’t count? After all they are nourishment for both the soul and mind!
Anyway, here are some of the titles I ordered. Can’t wait to get a staggered lot of pressies! Yay!
