And away we go…..
Blimey, can’t quite believe it’s already a new year, was only just getting a grip on last year’s and around swings this new one….. but a new and shiny and good one methinks. I feel it in my bones!
So I’ve sort of let this blog go a bit… partially cos I’ve been too busy but also (I’ll admit it) I’m a little blogged out. I mean there are a zillion of these things out there (trust me I’ve checked out a LOT of them – sad but true) and not all of them are that exciting. Also, my new decade resolution is to spend less time online and more time in the world – that’s not to say that I’m giving up completely! I am after all a web-junkie and I am rather partial to a rollicking cyber-surf.
Speaking of surfing (and the real world!), I’ve just come back from my annual 2 week camping pilgrimage to Bristol Point, truly one of the Gods’ greater creations…. I return renewed, smug with the feeling that we are so lucky to have such a place so close, but also slightly overwhelmed by how crazy modern life can actually be (this is called culture shock). I didn’t even take that many photos this year (much to my camping mob’s dismay), but it was nice actually to take a bit of a rest. Of course I didn’t NOT take any pictures as you can see below…. just a few of ye olde B&W pics. Will be doing more of these…. I miss it.
Charlie
Molly
Anyway, it’s gonna be another busy year. My biggest news is that I’m just about done with my dissertation having worked like a demon over the Xmas break to submit it. There may yet be some corrections (really bloody hoping not!), but the weight off is almost life altering (talk about a damn albatross!). Still have to write an exegesis. What the hell is this you ask!? For those of you who wonder, it’s simply a studio report aka a justification of my art practice with theoretical underpinnings and how I went about creating the body of work I created for the Masters… Blah, blah, blah. But actually not a bad exercise for any artist to do. Painful but you do come out with a strong sense of your own work, something I think a lot of photographers/artists lack unfortunately (along with either too much or not enough confidence!). So there you have it… 2010 off with a bang. Back to work tomorrow…. Have baked a yummy banana loaf for morning tea to ease the pain. Hmmmm…..
Light Journeys presents Anne Zahalka
Light Journeys is proud to present Sydney based photographic artist Anne Zahalka as our featured artist for February:
Wesley, entrepreneur from the series Playing the Game!
(courtesy Anne Zahalka and Roslyn Oxley 9 Gallery)
The Return of Alec Soth
Alec Soth is blogging again over at Little Brown Mushroom….. Great to have you back in the blogosphere Alec!
RIP Mr Sultan
Well the news is slightly old already (by news standards) but I was saddened to hear of Larry Sultan’s recent passing from cancer. Sultan was one of my favourite photographers, whose series “Pictures from Home” remains an all-time classic. For me, it was the brutal but honest conflict he maintained throughout the images, which largely depicts photographs of his parents. It’s an interesting meditation as well on how we are bound by family ties and how uniquely we deal with this at a personal level. Sultan I’m guessing dealt with this by photographing his domestic origins and family with loving care but was certainly not afraid to push the boundaries of his relationship (particularly with his Dad), and it’s interesting (familiar?) to note the tensions and banter between his father and himself, who nevertheless posed – along with his Mum – for photographs right up until his death. The following quote from Larry’s Dad, is so Dad-like and the video from BBC’s Genius of Photography series, quite revealing to say the least……
“Any time you show that picture,’ ” Mr. Sultan said his father told him, “‘you tell people that that’s not me sitting on the bed looking all dressed up and nowhere to go, depressed. That’s you sitting on the bed, and I am happy to help you with the project, but let’s get things straight here. ”
Larry Sultan, Dad on Bed, 1985
Larry Sultan, Mum Posing by Green Wall, 1984
RIP Larry, and thanks for your memories……
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….
