McCartney coup for BIFB

THE program for next year’s Ballarat International Foto Biennale is starting to take shape with a major exhibition announced.

For the first time in Australia, and exclusive to the 2021 BIFB, 200 images that make up Linda McCartney: Retrospective will go on show.

The exhibition is curated by McCartney’s husband Sir Paul McCartney and daughters Mary and Stella, and features images from the 1960s music scene, her family life, and from visits to Australia in 1975 and 1993, the latter which have never been displayed publicly before.

BIFB artistic director and co-curator Fiona Sweet described McCartney’s photos as a slice-of-life peak into the photopaper’s world.

“In the vein of Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, Linda often captured the subtle and fortuitous rather than the staged moments,” Ms Sweet said.

“Linda used the tools at her disposal to create moving and intimate portraits creating a new perspective in rock and roll photography.

“She captured the essence of those around her, providing insight into the personal lives of iconic artists and that of her family in later life.”

Voted the US Female Photographer of the Year in 1967, McCartney’s career spanned four decades and captured changes to the music scene and a wide range of sub-cultures.

Subjects of her classic images include Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, and of course, The Beatles.

“Linda’s significant archive offers a personal glimpse into the cultural icons of the 1960s and 70s, through her eyes,” Ms Sweet said.

Linda McCartney: Retrospective will run from 28 August to 24 October. Bookings for the exhibition are now open via ballaratfoto.org.

The 9th Ballarat International Foto Biennale also opens on 28 August and includes regular offerings like the Martin Kantor Portrait Prize, The Fineman New Photography Award and an open program.