Northern Hemisphere

Four Feet Project
DAVID WILLS & PETER MCLEAN

David Wills, Click Culture's creator and editor, will be away from 1 June working on his research, a collaboration project in Finland and other new ventures including a redevelopment of this photography blog. The archive will remain on-line for now, with the possibility of intermittent posts over the next few months.

David will continue to add images to his recently redeveloped website Turnstile. He will continue contributing to This Is Ikon, posting to his own blog Tokens, and develop a new work for his Finnish residency on Four Feet.

Inspiration: Pinhole Bin

TRASHCAM PROJECT

Inventiveness is key when it comes to pinhole cameras. Taking trash to new levels are these garbage men from Hamburg in Germany who are behind an inspirational and ongoing series dubbed the Trashcam Project. The large-scale images are captured by the dumpster pictured – if you look carefully you can see the lens. The images themselves are stunners. Follow the link to see their Flickr Photostream.

9/11

9/12
HANS-PETER FELDMAN

To say the past ten years have been tumultuous may be an understatement considering the natural disasters that have taken place from floods to fires, and tsunamis to earthquakes. We've seen the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the deaths of both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the downfalls of Blair, Bush and Howard and continued global financial meltdowns affecting many. With digital technology, the role of the photographer continues to be important as a way to comprehend, understand and memorialise major global events.

An interesting piece appeared in The Guardian by Jonathan Jones. In his article The meaning of 9/11's most controversial photo Jonathan discusses what has come to be an iconic and defining image from the day in question noting motivations, projections and attitudes. It's a riveting read and comes highly recommended for those in the Historical Perspectives of Photography course.

9/11 as a subject is one that a number of artists have tackled. Perhaps one of the more intriguing works is by Hans- Peter Feldman. His work 9/12 reproduces 100 front page covers of newspapers from around the world providing a point of reflection.

Fifties Fun

ELAINE BULL

Elaine Bull's interest in retro fashion is illustrated in these recent images from the Fifties Fair. Held each year at Rose Seidler House in Sydney's northern suburbs, the Fifties Fair attracts interested observers from around the state to one of the country's most famous homes. To the casual glancer the image at left may seem to be have been taken in a bygone era, but to those in the know it was taken just a week or so ago clearly showing just how serious the Fifties Fair is taken by its afficionados. Elaine's photos of the cars of the era had rev heads here drooling. 

Time Machine kicked into gear

First there was Lucida, an on-line journal about photography coming out of Queensland. The latest publication to hit screens is Time Machine, an on-line journal publishing contemporary photography from Australia and beyond with an emphasis on showing new work and longer term projects. Produced by Lee Grant and Tom Williams, we're looking forward to seeing where Time Machine takes us.

Background: Kathleen Mackay

Untitled
KATHLEEN MACKAY

Inspiration can come from peculiar places. Current student Kathleen Mackay cites an anonymous quote on fashion which suggests that fashion is for all, big or small, with budget or without, and that fashion is an art of self expression and not an excuse to be 'pretty, popular and charismatic.' Kathleen's Eureka moment came when she noticed a woman dressed top to toe in a brown velour tracksuit clutching a brown monogrammed Louis Vuitton bag as she exited her gleaming BMW. Kathleen felt this woman was effectively branded by her labels and decided to pursue this idea for her body of work. Kathleen also informs us that Newcastle Fashion Week is approaching.

In Lytro

We're always excited by new cameras, and the Lytro is no exception. Lytro's Light Field Camera promises to change the way we shoot by allowing us to shoot on the run and consider where the focus is later - and be able to change it. Wired have an interesting article about the mechanics of the camera, but for now we'll have to be patient and wait for its release later this year. In the meantime you can play around on-line to see just what it is capable of.

Showtime at Watt Space

Untitled
SHAN TURNER-CARROLL

Congratulations to Shan Turner-Carroll for his thoughtful exhibition currently on at Watt Space. Shan's work is part of an intriguing exhibition curated by Anne McLaughlin which features print, photo and sculptural works from current University of Newcastle students. Elsewhere in the gallery you'll find separate shows by Anthony Yates, Chris Byrnes and Amy Hill.

Lucida shines

It's great to see a new forum for photography in Australia with the launch of Lucida, a project undertaken by the Queensland Centre for Photography and the Queensland Government.

Playtime

Legotron
CARY NORTON

While our post title might be a nod to Jaques Tati's brilliant film Playtime - well worth tracking down for visual and aural intrigue - our playtime here refers to an array of 'toy' and plastic cameras on the market. Plastic cameras have a long and rich history from the simplicity of the Diana with its limited technical capabilities yet endless creative potential. The Holga is a close relative and can be used to make very long panoramic images like those of Maree Green or reworked to make images like those of Tim Hixson. You can even buy cameras made from boxes, for example, the Juice Box.

Taking playime a step further is Cary Norton who has built a Legotron 4x5 camera (pictured). Not only do we admire his inventive construction work, we're also in awe of the images that derive from experimentation with materials and photography. Not to be left behind Lego have produced their own digital camera which can be built into your Lego constructions while other budding architects have been creating their own camera visions from some time. Possibility is endless. Experimentation is fruitful.

Frenchmottershead

English artists FrenchMottershead were in Australia last year working on projects in both Sydney and Perth as part of the P4 Pilot program coordinated by Performance Space and PICA. While in Australia FrenchMottershead produced a free tabloid limited edition newspaper called The Perth & Sydney Echo as part of their participatory component of P4 Pilot. Taking stories published in Sydney's The Daily Telegraph and Perth's The West Australian as a starting point, members of the public were asked to choose a situation and personify or echo that story as a photograph. The outcome is an engaging and often humourous edition of The Perth & Sydney Echo, given out free in both cities. The duo are currently artists in residence at London's The Photographer's Gallery and have a new project based in Soho. Current first year students may be interested from the perspective of their Transit projects.

Light experiments

CHRIS BYRNES

Current Honours student Chris Byrnes has taken to the pinhole camera with gusto producing intriguing large-scale images of familiar land and street scapes. Effectively painting with light, Chris is interested in the human experience evidenced in her experimention with science and light and the elements of photographic practice. Chris is currently preparing for her Honours examination with a major body of new work.

Eyes out for Head On

ANTHONY BROWELL

The Head On Photography Festival kicks off May 5 and runs through to June 11. There is a wealth of exhibitions, seminars and events to take in making a trip to Sydney well worth the effort. Something to keep in mind is Anthony Browell's Obscura in the Park. More details coming soon, but in the meantime check the links above.

Short list: In the running

François
DEAN BELETICH

Finalists for the Olive Cotton Award have just been announced. We'd like to extend our congratulations to all finalists and wish them the very best of luck, in particular our very own Dean Beletich (pictured). Other finalists include Izabela Pluta, Samantha Everton (recently noted on this blog), Rebecca Shanahan, Lee Grant and Ella Dreyfus. We're waiting with bated breath to hear who will take home the award this year.

In glorious colour

Birthday Wish
SAMANTHA EVERTON

Samantha Everton's new exhibition Marionettes opens at Dickerson Gallery in Woollahra this week. Known for her vibrant use of colour and hyper-real composition, Samantha's alluring images channel surrealism. Marionnettes considers the pace of daily life for women, the challenges and pressures they deal with to keep everything afloat, and the resulting implosions. Focus for this series is on the 'grown-up' whereas in past works childhood was key. For Marionnettes Samantha spent a month in a house she rented in Melbourne's Brunswick, and may more months sourcing the right props to hit the perfect note. We can't to see them in the flesh.

Photographic perspectives

Parlament/Parliament, 2009.
Courtesy Sprüth Magers Berlin, London. Esther Schipper, Berlin.
Matthew Marks Gallery, New York.
© THOMAS DEMAND, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn/DACS London.

The Guardian has an interesting article on-line concerning the 'photographers' selected for the 2011 Deutsche Börse prize currently on show at The Photographer's Gallery in London. According to the article, The Photographer's Gallery has come in for much criticism concerning curatorial choices and an apparent limited range of photographic work deemed suitable for exhibition. Of course this is just one opinion, and to be fair The Photographer's Gallery seems to have a diverse program in place considering the number of photographic genres and myriad photographer types (commercial, artist, happy snapper, semi-pro...) there are to keep happy. The four short-listed contenders for the 2011 Deutsche Börse are Thomas Demand, Elad Lassry, Roe Ethbridge and Jim Goldberg who all approach photography from quite different vantage points. The winner for the prestigious prize will be announced in London on 26 April 2011. It is impossible to please everyone, and no matter who wins the decision is bound to be a little controversial. My money is on Demand.