Travelling Light - artist's statement The digital interconnection of the world has effectively erased geographical barriers, as a virtual map of webcams allows us to connect in real-time with remote, yet carefully framed, landscapes. For over a decade, my art practice has delved into the spatial and temporal poetics of remote, networked cameras, primarily through photomedia and live-streaming video installations. These artworks reflect upon the transportive capabilities of outdoor cameras, not only in regard to vicarious travel but also in the manner that spaces of the imagination and the virtual can overlap and interweave. Travelling Light brings together three bodies of work that employ these devices in different ways. The Proliferation of Nows (2014–18) is comprised of circles created from simultaneous screenshots of skies that I captured from webcams worldwide. The rings that compose the circle all align to a particular moment in time. Each circle is temporarily static–yet spatially stratified–despite depicting the immaterial sky, a symbol long associated with the dreamlike, ephemeral and boundless. They allude to portholes and explore the aesthetic experiences a viewer undergoes as their consciousness shifts between physical, virtual and psychological spaces. The Line of Concurrence (2014–15) features collages constructed from images captured simultaneously on webcams at multiple locations (varying capacities to capture resolution, light and colour). These works reflect not only on the fragmentation of our world and its digital connectivity but also on the human longing to see beyond the horizon. While the physical horizon always remains beyond our reach, webcams extend it in a virtual sense, enabling our eyes to traverse cyberspace and discover new vistas. This series, created from snapshots of virtual journeys, examines the impact that technology has on our perception of space and time. Luminous Forest (2020–2023) was created using wildlife cam-trap photographs from the Czech Republic. Mainly taken at night, these images offer a glimpse into a world often hidden from view. When a wild animal wandered into the camera’s view, motion sensors would trigger its shutter and the captured image would instantly be emailed to the forest ranger monitoring them, who very generously cc’d me into this system. I have reinterpreted these images by rephotographing them on an LCD screen and then further enhancing them with digital techniques that emulate traditional darkroom processing. Luminous Forest seeks to highlight the ways in which technology mediates our experience and shapes our understanding of the natural world. Alannah Gunter - Bio Alannah Gunter is a New Zealand artist based in Brisbane, Australia. She holds a BA(Hons) Photography from Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom; a Master of Fine Art, Massey University; and a PhD Visual Arts, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. Alannah has lectured in photography and photomedia at Massey University, Victoria University, and Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. 'Travelling Light' opens in Room 1 of Photospace Gallery on Friday 11 August, 5pm-7pm, and runs until 9 September, 2023. Alannah Gunter has exhibited at Photospace Gallery in 1999 and 2001 (solo exhibitions), and in various group exhibitions since then.
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Autobiography of a garden Photography by Helen Mitchell "In my garden there is a wilderness, alive with its own agenda where the plants and creatures compete and are subject to the tensions of climate and my attempts to colonise this environment. Avocado pips carelessly discarded spawn beautifully curved green leaves with a hint of bronze. Oxalis battles with dandelions, and bottles and jars appear as soon as I put my spade into the ground to cultivate new areas and trench though clay to replace decades-old drains. "In this show I’m revisiting twentieth century photographic practice by shooting on a Agfa Clack from the 1950s and exploring how these images might relate to my garden and to images created using digital imaging techniques common in contemporary camera systems. I’m invested in place and the space that I inhabit in my garden, the environment is constantly evolving as my occupation progresses. This work is the fourth in a series of works that are loosely connected by the theme of gardening and nature. "Work on this theme began with my project A Dose of Gardening. This was an online response to the first Aotearoa covid lockdown where participants were invited to contribute photography, writing and other artworks to an online exhibition platform. My second work titled A Month of Mondays was part of the Photospace online collaborative response to covid lockdown, A Month of Sundays. This work was a series of photographs depicting community intervention in a woodland area near my home. "My most recent project Forest Bathing: Beyond the Picturesque reflected an expansion of my practice by documenting a selection of personal and public garden rooms from sites around Aotearoa and was exhibited at the Refinery Artspace in Nelson last summer. This exhibition refocuses on small details through an expanded survey of my own garden in Wellington. This selection of 17 photographic works comprise 7 black and white analogue images from film and 10 colour digital prints." 'Autobiography of a garden' runs from Friday 7 July to Saturday 5 August in gallery room 1. The opening is on Thursday 6 July, 5pm-7pm. Normal gallery hours are 10am-3pm Monday to Friday, 11am-2pm Saturdays. The gallery is closed on Sundays and public holidays - Matariki on Friday 14 July. Helen Mitchell is a Senior Lecturer, Kaiārahi, Photography
Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Toi Rauwharangi College of Creative Arts at Massey University. Previous Photospace Gallery exhibitions: 2003 - 'The Kaimanawas' 2011 - 'Shifting Identity' 2012 - 'Portraits of Ink' 2013 - 'Tattoo Collectors' 2019 - Downtown Community Ministry group exhibition (co-curator/photographer). 'Pilgrimage' - artist statement I was born and raised in Christchurch, and it was during high school that I discovered my love for photography. I excelled in this subject and decided to pursue it further by moving to Wellington to study photography at Massey University. After completing my studies I tried my hand at working in the commercial photography industry but soon realised that it wasn't a good fit for me. Feeling unfulfilled and in need of a fresh perspective, I decided to take some time off and embarked on a personal journey by walking the South Island Section of Te Araroa, a trail that spans from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Starting from the Queen Charlotte Track, I eventually finished on Stewart Island. Through this experience, I came to appreciate the power of walking as a means of reconnecting with nature and recognising our place within the environment. We should see ourselves as a part of nature, not an external force upon it. While living in the city can have many benefits, I found that it was important for me to step back and gain a new perspective by immersing myself in the natural world. “I went in the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life. And see if I could not learn what it has to teach and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived.” - Henry David Thoreau This is Jake Giles' first solo exhibition at Photospace Gallery. He was in the 2020 group exhibition A Moment of Quiet the year he graduated from Massey University's photography degree programme. Pilgrimage is a tight selection from many images taken during Jake's recent and extensive walking trip - the length of Te Wai Pounamu and beyond. His exhibition opens on Friday 12th May, 5pm-7pm, and shows in gallery room 3 until 2pm on Saturday 3rd June. There will be an exhibition of paintings by Hana Carpenter - 'Borderland' - in gallery room 1. This is a Gilberd Marriott Gallery exhibition, opening the same evening and running the same dates. |
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