Churchie National Emerging Art Exhibition

Another image from my Archimedes' Field series is in the limelight.  Archimedes' Field - The First Night (above) was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the finalists in the Churchie National Emerging Art Prize.

The Churchie National Emerging art prize is a well known art award in Australia and garners a lot of attention from the public so I am excited to have an image in it.  I'm not in it to win it but rather to have my work seen and just to be involved.  I also love these type of exhibitions as a viewer because there is a broad variety of art to look at and it is always interesting to see what other emerging artists are doing.  

Last year Dew, also from the Archimedes' Field series, was a finalist in the Clayton Utz Travelling Scholarship.  You can view the whole series here.

The exhibition is open from Thursday 28th May until Sunday 31st May at Morris Hall, Churchie, Oaklands Pde, East Brisbane.

To find out more about the Churchie National Emerging Art Exhibition and the exhibition opening hours click here

'The First Night' can be purchased unframed here

Reminding Myself

SUCCESS IS

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Images: These Polaroids were taken only one moment apart on a day where I remembered to enjoy such simple things as fresh morning air, a roof over my head and the sublime beauty of nature. Too often I'm rushing around trying to complete my 'to-do' list. It's nice to pause and breathe.

Portrait: Chloe, Ross, Jaiden and the horse

In line with my desire to do 'special commissioned portraits'  I was thrilled when Chloe and Ross asked me to photograph their 8 month old son Jaiden in their family home.  Capturing memories of their son at this age was very important to them.  They really wanted me to capture every expression Jaiden had as well as the relationships they have with each other.  He was so much fun to photograph - really active, with gorgeous pouty lips and some hilarious expressions!  

They also had a pet horse - okay maybe it was a dog.  The horse was hilarious to photograph too - he was so sulky and the looks of resignation in his eyes as I took pictures of him made me laugh.  

What made it extra special for me was knowing how much they value their family ties.  The home was once Chloe's parents home, and before that, her grandparents, so the location was perfect for capturing yet another generation growing up there.

Two hours after delivering the images I got this message from Chloe:

"Hi Rachel, we both just want to tell you how much we love the photos!  They are all absolutely gorgeous.  We have watched the slideshow five times already and you even bought a tear to Ross's eye!  Thank you so much again we really appreciate it."

For me that is the most valued reward for photographing a very special family.  Thanks Chloe, Ross, Jaiden and Toby (the horse!)

Exhibition Afterword

Image from 'Aposelene' by Rebecca Smith

What can I say? I just love Rebecca's work. I love how it was presented. I love small, intimate works and her work is a very intimate portrait of her teenaged sister. The title 'Aposelene' means the point at which a satellite orbiting the moon is furthest away from the object it orbits.

Darryl Hewson opened the event which also featured five other artists in various stages of their careers. Darryl Hewson summed up her work beautifully expressing that the work for him was about how you can think you know someone so well but in reality you can never totally know them and perhaps in a way you don't know them at all. (He phrased it much better than I could).

If you get the chance to see the work at the Queensland Centre for Photography pay attention to the order of the images, the pairings etc. Everything is deliberate and poetic.

Peter Wilson's work Chasing Storms was in the small yet welcoming gallery space at the back. I loved the way it was displayed. The images were printed on Silver rag paper in varying sizes and displayed in informal layers. Being in such a small room it was easy to become totally immersed in his vision. He is another artist whose works are visual poems.

Also showing were artists Ben Ali Ong, Deborah Paauwe, Mark Kimber and Terry Young.

Websites:

Rebecca Smith

Peter Wilson

Deborah Paauwe

Aposelene - Rebecca Smith

I was serious when I said in my last post that you really need to be at the QCP tomorrow night from 5-8pm.  Rebecca Smith's work will take your breath away.  Anyone who has seen her work 'in the real' will let you know how moving her images are.  There is a strange haunted look in the eye of one who has beheld any of her work.  Again I need a better vocabulary to describe it.  Here is the QCP blurb about her work:

"Rebecca Smith is a recent graduate from the Queensland College of Art. Smith’s series Aposelene concerns the life of her younger sister who is fifteen years old. Aposelene is an intimate, poetic series that documents the crucial stage of adolescence through portraiture and landscape photography. The viewer begins to see the young girl’s transformation and early development of her identity."

Rebecca is also a close personal friend of mine who has always been very encouraging of my own work and for that I am very grateful.  

If you are a collector looking for something truly special Aposolene is available as a limited edition handmade book. Sooo yummy.  Another piece I wish I owned.

So, yes, I must re-iterate - QCP opening tomorrow night from 5-8pm Corner of Cordelia and Russell Streets

South Brisbane.

The House That Neville Built and other stories from Peter J Wilson

I absolutely love the work of Peter Wilson.  A big shout out as Peter will be showing his work at the Queensland Centre for Photography and the opening is tomorrow night.  Be there!  What I love most about his images is the filmic quality (he is totally old school!) and the 'images as meditations'.  Honestly, I wish I could better describe what I love about these images but in the end they speak for themselves.  He has an amazing ability to pair each image with a great title (he is also a great writer - a wonderful way with words!) .  

You really need to check out his online gallery at  http://peterjwilson.com.au/gallery.php

Above are just some of my favourites.

I'm so lucky to own one of his images - a small but beautifully printed self-portrait in black and white.  You can find it in his gallery but I'm not telling you which one it is.  Can you guess?  I wish I had more *sigh* one day :-)

So yes, if you are in Brisbane - get yourself to the QCP tomorrow night (from 5-8pm).  If not, be sure to check out his website!