2024 Concept to Publication

Exhibition Review: Visual Art | Brian Rope

Concept to Publication | Andrea Bryant, George Kriz, Meredith Krust-McKay, Louise Maurer, Helena Romaniuk, Sari Sutton

PhotoAccess Gallery I 28 November 2024 – 21 December 2024

This exhibition is the outcome of the 2024 Concept to Publication workshop series conducted by Photo Access. After nine months of mentorship by David Hempenstall exploring the art of the photobook, the participants have created new bodies of work showcasing their unique photographic styles in books.

There is quite a variety of book types on display. Not unexpectedly, the subjects and types of images in them vary considerably. Of even greater interest though is the varied styles of books. Some are traditional and commercially printed photobooks. Others are cleverly handmade and quite fascinating to see. 

Andrea Bryant is displaying four separate books. Unleashed has just eight images of Scrivener Dam overflows during major rain events. It has a ribbon hinge accordion binding with a marbled cover. Upright has only six monochrome images in a concertina binding with flag pouches for the images. Both these books were crafted for the artist by Joy Tonkin of Bookarts Canberra.

Unleashed by Andrea Bryant – installation photo by Eunie Kim

Upright by Andrea Bryant – installation photo by Eunie Kim

Footloose is a whimsical exploration of feet and shoes. Unnamed is abstracts of our urban landscapes. The imagery in both these books challenge us to appreciate them. 

Footloose by Andrea Bryant – installation photo by Eunie Kim

George Kriz presents Holding On, Letting Go. It is a tribute to his beloved wife Marjorie who passed away at the start of 2024. This is an artwork speaking to us about letting go and saying goodbye. The artist invites viewers to contemplate the transient nature of our existence. Whilst the physical book is not entirely easy to handle and explore because of its somewhat complex structure, viewing the accompanying powerful video is a most moving experience.

Holding On, Letting Go by George Kriz – installation photo by Eunie Kim

Meredith Krust-McKay invites us to get Up Close and enjoy the beauty of birds. The images of the avian world are excellent, and the chosen types of handmade books are fine choices, in the artist’s words “conveys parallels between the structure and delicacy of the feathered subject matter and the intricacies of one book form.”

Up Close by Meredith Krust-McKay - installation photo by Eunie Kim 

Up Close by Meredith Krust-McKay - installation photo by Eunie Kim

Louise Maurer’s contribution is titled Australian Tales. It is a creative imagining of explorer Charles Sturt’s search for an inland sea. It and her Memorial series about those who attempt to cross the waters but never find land became one in the process. Her “creative revision” method of developing the images has been beautifully used.

Australian Tales by Louise Maurer - installation photo by Eunie Kim 

Australian Tales by Louise Maurer - installation photo by Eunie Kim

Helena Romaniuk is showing photobooks about rust developed from her project which involved experimenting with templates, collages and colours. There are a number of books in her series titled Colour of Rust. Each one contains images of rusted metal surfaces, weathered machinery and forgotten relics. The textures, pattens and vibrant colours are effectively used to reveal unexpected beauty.

Colour of Rust by Helena Romaniuk - installation photo by Eunie Kim

Sari Sutton was a Dark Matter artist-in-residence at Photo Access this year. Her body of work, Dark Energy, was developed during the residency. Using archival Mount Stromlo imagery and botanical materials collected on site, photogram artworks inspired by astronomy and the cosmos were made – deliberately moving or placing objects on the photosensitive paper. Here the artist shows a photobook dummy of darkroom prints (which are the same 8x10 inch dimensions as her original silver gelatin prints) in a way which allows us to touch and hold them.

Dark Energy by Sari Sutton - installation photo by Eunie Kim

This exhibition is well worth a visit. It is a credit to the six participants, and to their mentoring by David Hempenstall. This annual program has delivered worthwhile creative results.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

Dark Matter 2024

Exhibition Review: Photography | Brian Rope

Dark Matter 2024 I Rozalind Drummond, Claire Paul, Phoebe Kelly, Sari Sutton

Photo Access  I 25 October - 23 November 2024

The annual Dark Matter residency program at Photo Access aims to provide a supported opportunity for artists whose practices incorporate darkroom-based or other alternative processes. The residencies aim to foster the creation of innovative image-based works that involve artistic experimentation, critically engage with contemporary darkroom-based practices and explore social, political, environmental and aesthetic questions of contemporary relevance.

This exhibition is the outcome of the 2024 Dark Matter program. The catalogue tells us that, “using the Photo Access darkroom facilities, these four artists have explored materials and methods of image-making that challenge and expand the perceived boundaries of photography. Their collective works navigate the interplay of landscape, technology and natural forces through experimental approaches …. and site-specific practices.”

When reviewing the 2022 Dark Matter show, I suggested that whilst most of us are obsessed with immediate image creation, that year’s participants were exhibiting what a slower and more contemplative approach could deliver. That is equally the case again this year. 

Before looking separately at each artist’s contributions, I would briefly mention the different display approach used in some parts of this show - works of differing sizes have been grouped together, sometimes overlaying others. That, in itself, provides something additional for us to think about.

Installation image – Eunie Kim

Emerging artist Claire Paul uniquely combines long-exposure photography, foraging, and screen-printing, fostering a mindful connection with the environment through her deeply ecological art practice. Her portraits of place offer something of an antidote to the pace of our lives nowadays. She has used long-exposure pinhole photography to highlight mindfulness and slowness. Her artworks have been screen-printed onto handmade paper using charcoal and ash. She has utilized rainwater, repurposed artworks, plants she has collected from the locations where she has photographed, and other materials like turmeric and rosemary. Viewing and exploring the completed pieces is most enjoyable.

Wash, 2024, charcoal and ash screen-printed onto handmade paper (rosemary, recycled artworks, seawater, foraged plant matter from photographed site), 40 x 28 cm - Claire Paul

Phoebe Kelly is visual artist and photographer living and working in Naarm (Melbourne). She uses photography, casting and processes of material transferral to investigate the potential of translating the intangible into the physical. In this exhibition, smartphone photos serve as the basis for Kelly's prints, all bar one of them being silver gelatin. She has used those images as her source material, then translated and manipulated them in various ways to create transformed artworks. Other processing possibilities that might be employed are still being investigated. The group of pieces being shown here is also very much worth exploring.

A moving surface, from the series Two Suns, 2024, silver gelatin print, 40 x 30 cm - Phoebe Kelly

Rozalind Drummond is a Melbourne-based artist. Working across expanded photographic practice, performative action and video, her practice is essentially a nuanced exploration of spatial and natural environments taking a multi-disciplinary approach. She has used photography, videography and performative actions to engage with the concepts of landscape and place. In her works that are on display in this exhibition, Drummond has examined various transitory sites - temporary buildings, empty offices, and unoccupied spaces – revealing to both herself and us, new terrains. Once more, visitors are encouraged to look closely at the works and consider what they are showing.

Untitled, 2024 - type C screen print, recycled muslin cotton, 84 x 145 cm - Rozalind Drummond

Sari Sutton is a Canberra-based photographer exploring human impact on Earth, and related social, economic, and environmental themes through diverse styles. Inspired by Canberra’s Mount Stromlo – which is deeply significant for settler scientists and its original Indigenous inhabitants, Sutton has investigated “the invisible but felt forces of interconnectedness and energy – between us, the earthly natural world and the celestial.” Her resultant series, Dark Energy, is another excellent outcome from this year’s residencies.

Interstellar, 2024 – digital inkjet print on Photo-Tex 118 x 94 cm - Sari Sutton

This is the third annual Dark Matter show I have reviewed. Once again, the artists have delivered excellent works, demonstrating that the residency program is a most worthwhile one.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.