In February this year at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre there was the first of a year long set of exhibitions on animals and our relationships with them. Below are four photos that were on display in the foyer taken to show animals close up and a sense of their attractiveness to us humans.
20 May – 30 July 2017
For a couple of months the Customs House in Sydney had an exhibition and display of materials from the campaign connected with the 1967 referendum to turn the status of the Indigenous population of Australia into a more recognised reality acknowledged within modern Australia. The Referendum was one of the few in which the voters approved a change. Below are samples of the materials and the brochure issued with the exhibition.
Until August 27 August 2017
Jon Lewis has a gift for insight into people which he shares through black and white photographs. The set of pictures on display at present at the State Library of NSW portray a diverse but familiar spread of people chosen from the street. Every one of the pictures is engaging for the character in the faces, the distinctive clothing and the relationship with the background. I loved studying each of these.
http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/beauty-difference-street-photography-jon-lewis
Till Sept 20th 2017
Plan to take a few hours or several visits if you want to take in this exhibition. The range and complexity of the works on show means it takes lots of time to engage with the abundant creativity.
There were grand explorations of traditional.arts from both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sources. They are joined to huge numbers or works of modern and technological styles of creations.
In the entry way to the NGA is a Rolls Royce painted in tradition art style. In the exhibition is a video of the artist driving that car and that activity brings together lots of remarkable visual traditional elements. The driver turns into a large area of red dust and by driving in various circles at high speed he digs up the red dirt creating patterns and a vast amount of red dust. The beauty and layered elements of the video production and were wonderful.
I will go back as we only had 90 minutes today. The exhibition is hard as it traverses complex territory of history, political comment, layered cultural interaction and many aspects of the underbelly of human society. I have included a few pics below but the only sensible thing to do with this exhibition is to go – it is free.
Photography has always had a role in recording social change. At the heart of Mikhalia Jurkiewicz’s exhibition at Photoaccess in December was the act of portraying the personality of eight share houses in her new neighbourhood. The photographs in black and white drip with personality, character and charm.The combination of people, furniture and background communicate a rich mix of social and cultural features.
Pictures and gallery material below
26 November 2016- 16 July 2017
The blurb for this exhibition reads
Elegant, bold and often experimental, Melbourne photographer Athol Shmith (1914–1990) worked in fashion, theatre, advertising and portraiture for decades. Shmith’s have been called ‘perhaps the finest of all Australian fashion photographs’. He is said to have directed every aspect of a shoot, whether at his studio at the ‘Paris end’ of Collins Street, at friends’ houses or outdoors. Much of his work was for Melbourne boutiques Le Louvre and La Petite, as well as for Myer.
In 1979, Shmith gave the Library a large collection of his prints, negatives and transparencies. Most are fashion photographs and came with few details on why or when they were taken. He later visited the Library and identified many of the models.
This small exhibition, drawn entirely from the Library’s collections, showcases his fashion photography. https://www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/athol-shmith-fashion-photographs
The collection of photographs are truly remarkable. The poses, the clothes, the models, all speak of high quality design and creativity and excellent use of light. Every picture posed against vacant or stunning backgrounds is a credit to the art of black and white fashion photography. A great collection of artistry.
Below are some naughty phone snaps to give you the vibe of his remarkable works,
11- 27 November 2016
The title of this exhibition gives a true sense of her practice. Ms Hindmarsh is recording in film her journey to find focus both in her practice and in her style of photography. Most of the work is in pure black and white and from an 8mm film to lots of tiny photographs her work has a blurry look to it. Some samples and the gallery sheet are below.
