Posts Tagged ‘Chris Bowes’
DARK LOVE: Stories of the darkroom @ Maud Gallery
It seems that in the digital age many photographers still pine for the days past when the darkroom was familiar territory. While older photographers may have fond memories, today they share their darkroom love with new-comers, mainly younger and digitally native photographers. To honour the past and to celebrate the future of the darkroom we worked with the Director of Maud Creative Gallery Irena Prikryl recently to host a series of events and workshops to recognise analogue photography in contemporary photographic practice.
On November 8 a group of photographers responded to the call to attend an event at the gallery called DARK LOVE: Stories of the Darkroom. They were asked to come along with something special about the darkroom and tell a story associated with it. On arrival at the gallery their photographs were prepared and then hung on the wall. The presentations were timed at around 5 minutes and were quite fascinating.
Part of the Dark Love exhibition at Maud Gallery
What follows is a photo of the attendee, their print and a brief comment about their stories …
Alex Buckingham
Alex spoke about working with Liquid Light emulsions
Victoria Cooper
Victoria Cooper discussed the making of this pinhole biscuit tin photo and the challenges of printing the 6x18cm negative
Thomas Oliver
Thomas spoke about his current academic research in the multiple printing of a single negative.
Tammy Forward
Tammy discussed the making of a studio portrait.
Sandy Barrie
Sandy spoke of the dangers of shooting large format in busy Sydney traffic.
Robyn Hills
Robyn told the story of the making of this award winning print – from its origins from a point-n-shoot camera to darkroom high contrast printing ‘Tipp-ex” and a little bit of marker pen… A great animated performance….
Rob Crapnell
Rob discussed his interest in the darkroom and work with a 6×7 Pentax documenting how old heritage buildings in Brisbane are being cramped by the skyscraper…
Peter Pescell
Peter discussed his use of an ‘ancient’ bellows camera and reloaded 120 aerial film on spools to make this image… the old and the outdated still have currency in analogue…
Michael Stephenson
Michael discussed his modern printing of a series of lantern slides that represented a panorama of Brisbane made in the 1870s(?) by the photographer a Mr Wilson(?).
Louis Lim
Louis spoke of a camera obscura that he made in a children’s hospital as part of an artist in residence. He described the view of Vulture Street in Brisbane on the ceiling of the room and how children visiting the space were enthralled by the images on the ceiling and walls…
Jeff Ryan
Jeff discussed the taking of this photograph and its connection personal connection with he and his brother’s lives. The photo was made relatively recently at a place where Jeff and his brother played as kids 40 years earlier.
Irena Prikryl
Irena’s story related to buying her first serious camera – a Hasselblad and then taking some photos in Grand Central Station in New York. The camera was balanced on a railing and the shutter speed was long… The photo was recently printed in a Fine Art Print workshop at Maud with Doug+Vicky.
Chris Bowes
Chris Bowes was unable to attend but had come by earlier to install his personal investigation of self and sweat by placing un-exposed B&W photopaper against his body. The prints are then process yield a ‘Chemigram’. Chris will present a floortalk at the gallery. Check the Dark Love page for details…
David Symons
David discussed that the origins of his 1980s photographic series was a response to the work and photobooks of David Hamilton. Hamilton was well known for his ‘soft-porn’ photos of young girls. Symons spoke about how he appropriated Hamilton’s photos by double printing copy negatives through a cracked mud image. Texts from Hamilton’s book were adapted by Symons using a redactive process to reveal an alternative story….
Doug Spowart
I commented about how a recent re-connection with pinhole photography during the Pinhole workshop last weekend had helped to resolve a need for a new project that Vicky and I will be working on next year. I passed around an 8″x10″ film pinhole negative that had revived my interest and love of the darkroom. PHOTO: Victoria Cooper.
Edwin Wecker
Edwin discussed his experiences with film photography whilst on tour to India with his friend Russell Shakespeare.
Gail Hoger-Neuman
Gail showed some photographs from her early 1990s exhibition ‘Hollywood Stills’ that was shown at Imagery Gallery.
Sandy Barrie demonstrates ancient portable daylight enlargers – the oldest was made before 1859.
Conversations continued after the presentations
The DARK LOVE works were enjoyed and discussed
CHRIS BOWES FLOORTALK – 26 November – details to be confirmed
A FINE ART PRINTING WORKSHOP WILL TAKE PLACE ON – Postponed to 2017
A CYANOTYPE WORKSHOP – Details HERE
AND THE FRONT GALLERY WILL BE CONVERTED INTO A CAMERA OBSCURA on November 26 (to be confirmed)
Festival of the Darkroom logo
All portrait photographs and gallery documentations unless credited otherwise ©2016 Doug Spowart
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NEW PHOTODOC SHOW Curated by Doug @ Maud Gallery
In-situ – Frontispiece
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IN SITU: New Photodocumentary Work
At the end of 2015 I was the external assessor for the Queensland College of Art Bachelor of Photography Documentary stream. The work that I encountered from their recently completed documentary photography projects was inspiring. The projects that they had engaged in employed an ‘embedded’ methodology. Each photographer created stories expressing concepts and ideas that I felt deserved a wider audience. As some of the projects crossed-over into the slippery areas of art and concept documentation I felt that presenting the work in this context would encourage comment and discourse.
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Doug in an assessment @ the Queensland College of Art PHOTO: Earle Bridger
I sought support from Irena Prikryl, Director of Brisbane’s Maud Gallery, with my intention being to curate a show of selected works. Over a week I forwarded to Irena websites and links to the student’s works – each submission was met with a response – ‘these photos are awesome!’ Irena then offered an exhibition early in 2016. In discussions with students I found that one of them was interested in curating and gallery management – so an honorary internship was offered to Gillian Jones.
The rationale for exhibition is as follows:
Every photograph is a document. A photographic document may be about a friend’s smile, a family event, a dramatic storm cloud or a dent in a car door. But, what about those documentary images that tell us about the greater aspects of life in our times? These other photographs can encompass the tragedies of human suffering, of rituals and habits, of things that escape our casual view of the world and documents of hidden acts, a performances or a ‘happening’.
The documentary photographs in this exhibition are made by photographers not working as the casual iPhone snapshot ‘photographer’ of today, but rather individuals who embed themselves in human and natural environments to witness, to empathise and to document with a camera so a story can be shared.
The documentary photographers in this exhibition present their work as evidence of what they have seen, felt and been touched by. This work represents new photodocumentary practice and will place viewers in situ – surrounded by issues of contemporary life…
The exhibitors who accepted the invitation were:
Follow the links to the Maud Gallery website to see the projects (NOTE: Some links may now be inactive)
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Chris Bowes for the work ‘Sweat‘
Richard Fraser for the work ‘Pup play and beyond – exploring Brisbane’s BDSM subculture’
Gillian Jones for her work ‘Choice, Chance or Circumstance‘
Louis Lim for his work ‘Waiting for Sunshine‘
David Mines for the work ‘Beautiful one day perfect the next?
Thomas Oliver for his work ‘Disconnection‘
Marc Pricop for the work ‘Our Place in The Valley‘
Elise Searson for her work ‘Karen’ Lyme disease sufferer
Cale Searston for his work ‘BLU‘
The show was opened by arts writer Louise Martin-Chew on March 9 who was to comment at the beginning of her address that:
I am not an expert on photo documentary: my interest is in art and artist stories. I’m interested in the way in which we may tell and share these stories most effectively, and it is the many narratives, often those that are hidden unless you are part of that experience, or sub culture, that is at the heart of this exhibition of new photography.
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Louise Martin-Chew opens ‘In Situ’ PHOTOS: Irena Prikryl
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Well over 120 people attended the exhibition opening. A cash bar operated with the profits going to the Lyme Disease Association of Australia charity – associated with Elise Searson’s project’
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Opening attendees
Opening attendees
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Some views of the exhibition:
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David Mines’ ‘Beautiful one day perfect the next?’
Elise Searson’s ‘Karen’ Lyme disease
Richard Fraser’s ‘Pup play and beyond’
Thomas Olivers’ ‘Disconnection’
Louis’ ‘Waiting for Sunshine’
Chris Bowes’ ‘Sweat’
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Over the course of the exhibition each of the photographers presented a floortalk at the gallery. One contributor was Thomas Oliver, who is currently studying overseas in Toronto, Canada presented a Skype session in the gallery before his work.
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Gillian Jones presenting her floortalk
Thomas Oliver giving his floortalk by Skype
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The exhibition concluded on the 20th March with a dinner for the exhibitors and gallery members within the white walled empty space of the gallery.
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The artists’ dinner @ Maud Gallery
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In my comments at the opening of the exhibition I stated that a documentary photograph does not exist until it is publically distributed. The exhibition, In Situ: New Photodocumentary Work, put this work and the stories it contains before an audience. Everyone seeing it may interpret this work differently; such is the nature of the photodocument. Perhaps the true value of photodocumentary work can be summed up in Louise martin-Chew’s closing statement:
The power of this collection of works by a very talented group is simply summed up I think: Art may not be able to save the world, but it has an unparalleled ability to help us understand the individuals that comprise a community, a country, a continent = the world. And that may be sufficient.
Thank you to Irena Prikryl and Maud Gallery, Gillian Jones, the contributing photographers and Louise Martin-Chew for a memorable and powerful photodocumentary exhibition of new works.
Dr Doug Spowart
Louise Martin-Chew’s opening address can be seen on her website: HERE
New-PhotoDoc Catalogue
A catalogue of selected works from the show can be downloaded: NEW-DOC-CATALOGUE
Each of the photographer’s works can be seen on the Maud Gallery website under the participant’s names in the OUR ARTISTS menu – they can be purchased from the site as well.
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Unless attributed otherwise all texts and photographs are ©2016 Doug Spowart
WORLD PHOTOBOOK DAY @ Brisbane’s Maud Creative
World Photobook Day at Maud Creative Gallery Photo Robert Gray
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A survey project about those who read photobooks
My Favourite Photobook – Brisbane World Photobook Day
World Photobook Day (WPBD) in Brisbane Australia at Brisbane’s Maud Creative Gallery was celebrated with a survey project highlighting photographers and their photobooks curated by Victoria Cooper and Doug Spowart.
The international WPBD team chose this day in recognition of the British Library’s the acquisition of Anna Atkins’ Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype impressions on October 14 in 1843. Atkins’ cyanotype book is arguably considered as the world’s first photobook as both image and text are printed simultaneously printed on the same page. It was some time before the photograph and text could be co-printed, so books that included photographic illustrations, were usually printed with text by letterpress processes and photographs ‘tipped-in’ as original prints. WPBD activities are supported through the PhotoBook Club, a worldwide network of groups interesting in photobooks.
The Cooper+Spowart survey asked photographers to submit a photograph of themselves reading their favourite photobook and comment on why they like their chosen book. Sixty-five photographers responded to the request. Working on tight timelines Cooper and Spowart printed the photographer’s submissions including: their self-portraits while reading, their chosen book and a comment about why they had chosen the book. This work was presented for viewing on the gallery wall.
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Brisbane World Photobook Day, Maud Gallery Photo Doug Spowart
Looking at books – WPBD, Maud Gallery Photo Doug Spowart
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The event was also attended by photographica collector and historian Sandy Barrie who presented a selection of photographically illustrated books from the 19th century. These books include the 1846 Art Union journal that contained an essay by Henry Fox Talbot and an original calotype print.
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Sandy Barrie and the Art Union journal Photo: Doug Spowart
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Early in the evening a ‘fly-through’ video was made of the installation with some guests present.
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In the evening around 35 photobook enthusiasts attended a forum with panellists including Dr Heather Faulkner documentary transmedia practitioner and lecturer at the Queensland College of Art (Gold Coast), Chris Bowes artist and bookmaker, Julie Ann Sutton documentary photographer and collector, Helen Cole Senior Librarian and Coordinator of the Australian Library of Art at the State Library of Queensland, and Henri van Noordenberg artist and bookmaker. The forum was convened by Doug Spowart who in a Q&A format led discussion and a range of photobook issues including:
- Collecting books
- Possession and ownership
- Borrowing and loaning of books
- Adding bookplates and marginalia to books
- Letting children handle books
- The future of photobooks
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WPBD Forum Photo Daniel Groneberg
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The last poignant comment came from Heather Faulkner when speaking of the future printed book. In her statement she referred to the recent changes to privacy laws giving government agencies access and scrutiny over all of our online metadata. Faulkner’s prediction is that the physical book, as it has been in the past, will be the place for personal and provocative commentary on contemporary life and politics.
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Cooper+Spowart wish to acknowledge the following supporters of this project:
- The creative from Maud Gallery: Irena Prikryl, Teri Ducheck and Peter Pescell – videographer;
- Matt Johnston – The Photobook Club;
- Tony Holden and Ilford for the inkjet printing paper;
- Sandy Barrie;
- The forum panelists – Heather, Chris, Julie Ann, Helen and Henri;
- The installation team Maureen Trainor, Rene Thalmann, Mel Brackstone and Daniel Groneberg;
- And, of course, all the participants.
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To celebrate the Brisbane WPBD event BLURB Australia has offered a discount voucher for participants in the Brisbane event. The code and conditions are: WPBD2015, expires 30 November 2015. Must pay with Australian dollars. Maximum discount per book is AUD$150. Each customer can use the code 1 time.
SEE a few of the photographers and their favourite books in this download:
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DOWNLOAD A PDF SELECTION: WPBD-Selected_Submissions
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THE PROJECT WILL CONTINUE… Stay tuned.
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Previous WPBD events coordinated by Cooper+Spowart 2013 and 2014.
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The 67 participating photographers and their books were:
Peter Adams: Passage – Irving Penn
Melissa Anderson: Shooting Back – Jim Hubbard
Ying Ang: Sabine – Jacob Aue Sobol
Sandy Barrie: Art Union Journal, 1 June 1846 – Henry Fox Talbot essay
Chris Bowes: Tokyo Compression – Michael Wolf
Isaac Brown: Ray’s a Laugh – Richard Billingham
Harvey Benge: Blumen – Collier Schorr’s book
Camilla Birkeland: Mike and Doug Starn – Andy Grundberg
Daniel Boetker-Smith: In Flagrante – Chris Killip
Mel Brackstone: Melbourne and Me (a work in progress) – Adrian Donoghue
Helen Cole: Booked – Peter Lyssiotis
Victoria Cooper: Domesday Book – Peter Kennard
Michael Coyne: Workers -Sebastião Salgado
Judith Crispin: da Sud a Nord (from South to North) – Sabine Korth
Sean Davey: William Eggleston Paris
Jacqui Dean: Peter Adams – A Few of the Legends
John Elliott: Richard Avedon Portraits
Dawne Fahey: Julia Margaret Cameron – Marta Weiss
Heather Faulkner: The Notion of Family – La Toya Ruby Frazier
Liss Fenwick: Outland – Roger Ballen
Juno Gemes: Nothing Personal – Richard Avedon and text by James Baldwin
Kate Golding: Fig. – Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin
Philip Gostelow: Thank You – Robert Frank
Robert Gray: Max Yavno
Daniel Groneberg: Los Alamos – William Eggleston
Sam Harris: Café Lehmitz – Anders Petersen
Tony Hewitt: 50 Landscapes – Charlie Waite
Douglas Holleley: Man and His Symbols – Carl Jung
Kelly Hussey-Smith: On the Sixth Day – Alessandra Sanguinette
Libby Jeffery: Inferno – James Nachtwey
Matt Johnston: Touch – Peter Dekens
Larissa Leclair: Moisés – Mariela Sancari
Louis Lim: Blind – Sophie Calle
James McArdle: Love on the left bank – Ed van der Elsken
Paul McNamara: The Terrible Boredom of Paradise – Derek Henderson
Henri van Noordenberg: Cinci Lei – Joost Vandebrug
Gael Newton: By the sea – CR White
Glen O’Malley: A Modern Photography Annual 1974
Thomas Oliver: Common Sense – Martin Parr
Maurice Ortega: The Apollo Prophecies – Kahn and Selesnick
Adele Outteridge: Pompeii – Amedeo Maiuri
Polixeni Papapetrou: Diane Arbus
Martin Parr: Bye, Bye Photography – Daido Moriyama
Gael Phillips: Arcadia Britannica, A Modern British Folklore Portrait – Henry Bourne
Louis Porter: Looking Forward to Being Attacked – Lieutenant Jim Bullard
Imogen Prus: The Whale’s Eyelash, A Play in Five Parts – Timothy Prus
Jack Picone: Exiles – Josef Koudelka
Ian Poole: White Play – Takuya Tsukahara
Irena Prikryl: Cyclops – Albert Watson
Susan Purdy: nagi no hira, fragments of calm – Suda Issei
Jan Ramsay: AraName – Bir Ara Güler Kitabi
Jacob Raupach: The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater – Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Felicity Rea: Pandanus – Victoria Cooper
Mark Shoeman: Me We, Love Humanity and Us
Roger Skinner: Third Continent – Self-published
Doug Spowart: The Research Library, National Gallery of Australia
Tim Steele: The Earth From The Air – Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Alison Stieven Taylor: Strange Friends – Bojan Brecelj
Julie Ann Sutton: Katherine Avenue – Larry Sultan
Maureen Trainor: Sequences – Duane Michals
Garry Trinh: Period of Juvenile Prosperity – Mike Brodie
Ann Vardanega: Loretta Lux
George Voulgaropoulos: A shimmer of possibility – Paul Graham
Marshall Weber: Street Our Street – Dana Smith & Marshall Weber
David A Williams: Avedon Fashion
Konrad Winkler: Emmet Gowin the new Aperture book
Simon Woolf: F Lennard Casbolt Retrospective Exhibition Catalogue
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All photographs and texts remain the copyright of the submitting photographers.
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