LIGHT JOURNEYS

House, a new book and an exhibition opening 15 October 2011 at the Museum of Sydney features the stunning still-life photography by Robyn Stacey, showcasing the extraordinary and everyday objects from the Historic Houses Trust’s collections and properties.

These exquisite photographs are the result of a four-year collaboration between the Historic Houses Trust (HHT) and Stacey who gained unprecedented access to the more than 29,000 objects held in the collections of Elizabeth Bay House, Vaucluse House, Rouse Hill House & Farm and the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection.

The exhibition will feature over 15 of Stacey’s striking images, a selection of objects from each of the properties and a slide-show revealing the intricate process behind each photograph.

Vikky Wilkes will be exhibiting her series Last Light in Gallery 2 at the Queensland Centre for Photography from 24th September through to 23rd October 2011.

Last Light is a series of photographs investigating the final hour of light on the shores of Lake Ginninderra in Canberra. Photographed between January and March 2009, which included the Australia Day long weekend, the series documents the cultural and social diversity of the people who visit the lake and the ways they interact with it. The photographs capture the mood associated with the season and time of day. In a world suspended between night and day we find a place familiar to all: declarations of love on a tree trunk; couples embracing; people seeking a leisurely pace. These moments are a testimony to a passage in time, a connection between past and present elaborated through the landscape.

Untitled 2 (courtesy Vikky Wilkes)

Claire Martin is showing her series Slab City at the ACP in Sydney. Opening is Thursday 1 September (tomorrow!) from 6pm and the exhibition opens to the public on Friday, running through to the 25th September.

All welcome…

© Claire Martin, Leonard Knight and his Salvation Mountain, Slab City 2009

In the Colorado Desert of South Eastern California, Slab City serves as a refuge for what society may ordinarily perceive as misfits or outcasts yet with her lens Australian photographer Claire Martin discovered a community of people who understood each other. Unberable temperature highs in summer weeded out the many who inhabited the free space in winter leaving only the most resilient, or the most unfortunate, as residents.

Taking its name from the concrete slabs that remain from an abandoned World War II base it is a tragic yet romantic landscape that commands this small but committed group of squatters to possess the same balance of beauty and beast.

Light Journeys artist, Michelle Tran is exhibiting new work at Kings Artist Run Initiative in Melbourne. The show opens on the 8th July and runs through to the 30th July.

Georgia Metaxas will be exhibiting her new series The Mourners in the intimate space of Gallery 4 at the Centre for Contemporary Photography from 17th June through to 7th August 2011.
The Mourners is a series of portraits documenting the ritual of wearing black as a signifier of perpetual mourning. In remembrance of those they have lost, all that sit for a portrait in the series wear black everyday for the rest of their lives.

Georgia will host a floortalk on Saturday 18th June at midday.

Untitled No. 1 from the series "The Mourners" © Georgia Metaxas

a BIG congratulations to Tamara Dean who has picked up Olive Cotton Award for her photograph Damien Skipper.

Damien Skipper, 2011 © Tamara Dean

Opening  Tuesday 14th June at the ACU Gallery in Fitzroy, Melbourne. The exhibition runs through to the 30th June.

Robyn has worked closely with the NSW Historic Houses Trust to produce a series of artworks and a book focusing on three of their properties, Elizabeth Bay House, Vaucluse House and Rouse Hill estate as well as the Caroline Simpson Research Collection and Library. The book will be released in October.

Exhibition dates are 18 May to 25 June 2011.

Presentation (pear)

(courtesy of Robyn Stacey and Stills Gallery)

A BIG congratulations to Light Journeys artists Shauna Greyerbiehl who is a winner of the Head On Portrait Prize and Katrin Koenning who also picked up the Head On Critics Choice Award!!

© Shauna Greyerbiehl

© Katrin Koenning

This month Light Journeys celebrated its second year as an online gallery featuring many of Australia’s talented women photographers. We sincerely appreciate the contributions and ongoing enthusiasm of our audience.

As we move into another exciting year of exhibitions, we have decided to give Light Journeys a new look. We hope you enjoy the site. Please also check out our Facebook page and help us to spread the word. Keep the submissions rolling in and we always welcome your suggestions and feedback.

Special thanks to our great web developer Katie Hayne !!!