LUMINA Collective: Echoes exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat displays photographic work by eight Australian women \u2013 leaders in their craft \u2013 studying the ways in which image-making is linked to questions of identity and place.<\/p>\n
In a dark space at the rear of the Gallery\u2019s ground floor the collection is powerful, stimulating and interestingly inviting.<\/p>\n
Each of the women provide a narrative describing the concepts and context of their photographs within the notion of identity through investigation of family history, loss and trauma, home and self.<\/p>\n
Chloe Bartram, currently living in Western Australia, has a penchant for the stories of women.<\/p>\n
In her body of work for the exhibition, entitled The Encyclopaedia of Sex Practice: Ages Sixteen to Twenty-four (and some after) there is a striking portrait of a young girl in a bridal gown sitting on a bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor this exhibition, photography and text is what allowed me to explore my lived experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used photography to investigate the tensions I\u2019ve felt between what has been prescribed to me regarding the notions of being female and the reality of rebellion and feminist awakenings.<\/p>\n
\u201cArt for me is about self-expression and selfie culture has allowed that to become more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photographic art practice is about telling stories and provoking discussion, thought and conversation but it is also about capturing a memory or moment in time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe selfie is a form of self-portraiture, encapsulating our representation in that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donna Bailey, a resident of central Victoria, is fascinated with the effects of nineteenth century white settlement in this area.<\/p>\n
Her Goldfields Gothic take of a blonde girl in cape and hood echoes little red riding hood except this one is blue.<\/p>\n
While the image was created in 2003, it was selected for this show because it perfectly represented the spirit of her topic and of the exhibition.<\/p>\n
Bailey said, \u201cAs a professional artistic photographer I don\u2019t give the selfie any thought at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t regard selfies as having any connection to art whatsoever, they are random, casual outputs made usually on the spur of the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my artistic practice, I make portraits of people within a known environment in an attempt to not only to explore the relationship between the subject and myself, but to delve also into the physical and psychological experience of living in a place layered with its own discrete histories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah Rhodes travels between and works in Sydney and Tasmania.<\/p>\n
Her photographs in A Surrounded Beauty within the exhibition challenge traditional documentary portraiture, exploring the fictionalised spaces of the subconscious, imagination and memory.<\/p>\n
The Internet and digital image making have enabled and encouraged people to tell their own stories when photography was once only accessible to professionals.<\/p>\n
Rhodes said, \u201cThe age of the selfie has meant artists are encouraged to make social commentary on how they see the world rather than to imagine the perspective of others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an exciting time to be an artist as there is a diverse range of visual languages developing. \u201c<\/p>\n
She takes pictures of young people coming of age to understand the human condition.<\/p>\n
Generally, this age group have a lot of experience of making selfies and are very aware of the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the reasons I work in Tasmania is because my sitters are not saturated by the media and still have a rawness to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am interested in photographing people in their imaginations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exhibition is open until Sunday, 10 March, 10am to 5pm daily and entry is free.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, 9 February at 2pm some of the artists will attend the exhibition to discuss their themes and ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LUMINA Collective: Echoes exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat displays photographic work by eight Australian women \u2013 leaders in their craft \u2013 studying the ways in which image-making is linked to questions of identity and place. In a dark space at the rear of the Gallery\u2019s ground floor the collection is powerful, stimulating and […]<\/p>\n