‘Real Pictures: Imaging XX’ curated by Nina Seja.

We are very excited to be involved with the exhibition ‘Real Pictures: Imaging XX’ curated by Nina Seja, opening at the Gus Fisher Gallery this Friday 2 June. PhotoForum is publishing the catalogue as PhotoForum issue number 88, which will be distributed to PhotoForum members and be available for sale at the gallery.
Dr Seja wrote the detailed history of PhotoForum ‘PhotoForum at 40’, and it is a pleasure to be collaborating with her again on this project, presenting work by five artists associated with the hugely influential photography gallery and laboratory Real Pictures, which operated in Auckland from 1979 to 1990.

Geoffrey H. Short
Director, PhotoForum Inc.
30/5/17

 

Catalogue for the exhibition ‘Real Pictures: Imaging XX’ at the Gus Fisher Gallery, 2 – 30 June. Exhibiting artists Sue Gee, Megan Jenkinson, Marie Shannon, Deborah Smith and Jenny Tomlin. Curated by Nina Seja in association with PhotoForum.

Jenny Tomlin, ‘Sedge, Windy Point, Whatipu, 1985’. From the series ‘The Well Kept Wilderness’.

Poster for the exhibition ‘Photographs by Marie Shannon’, Real Pictures, 1985. Image: ‘Waiting for the Tide’ 1985.

Megan Jenkinson, ‘Hand to Hand II’ 1985, Cibachrome collage.

Deborah Smith, ‘The Pursuit of Game (VIII)’ 1988.

Sue Gee, from ‘Chinese Ties’, 1983.

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Black Asterisk Gallery: ‘Flash Cars’ – Murray Cammick

 

Murray Cammick
Flash Cars

The Black Asterisk Gallery – 10 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland August 3 to 31 2016

After a 40-year absence, the classic Queen Street V8 images, shot in the late 1970s by photographer Murray Cammick are making a return to Auckland at Ponsonby’s The Black Asterisk Gallery from August 3 to August 31. The exhibition will include the classic documentary images that are known, plus photos that have never been seen before of the cars and the people that roamed Auckland’s main street, late at night.

In 1974, while still a student at Elam School of Fine Art, Cammick began photographing people and their V8 cars as they congregated late at night in Auckland’s Queen Street. When the theatre patrons went home, the city’s main street was their place to park-up or cruise.

Cammick spent many weekend nights from 1974 to 1981 photographing the scene. While he documented the V8s, his mode of transport was a diminutive Morris Minor that he hid in a side street. Cammick was a shy and naïve 20 year old when he started this series and revellers would see his SLR camera and hassle him to – “take our photo!” – unaware that they were giving the quiet photographer the opportunity (and images) he was looking for.

In 1977 Cammick and long-time friend Alastair Dougal established RipItUp music magazine. After he photographed concerts for RipItUp he headed for Queen Street – but as the eighties got underway – the Queen Street V8 scene faded. A later photo might be a single car moving through the bleak environment, looking for a scene that is no longer there. The dark, empty street has a character of its own and starts to takeover the images.

When he ended his involvement with RipItUp magazine in 1998, he set out to do a series of photographic exhibitions but was thwarted by the digital takeover of photography and the realisation that key images from his Flash Cars series were missing – last seen in the 1980s. In mid-2014, the missing negatives were found, allowing a comprehensive exhibition to be undertaken. Jenny Tomlin, a specialist in the field of silver gelatin printing has made the new prints for the show.

Cammick’s Queen Street photographs are represented in the Te Papa National Gallery & Museum, Wellington. His photographs have been published in Art at Te Papa (2009), NZ Photography Collected (2015, Te Papa Press), PhotoForum at 40: Counterculture, Clusters, and Debate in New Zealand (2014, Rim Books), Into The Light: A History of New Zealand Photography (2006, Craig Potton Press), and Photo-Forum issue 39 (1977, PhotoForum Inc.)

Flash Cars has been shown at Snaps Gallery, Auckland in 1976 and 1977 and Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney in 2015. The photographer’s photos have also appeared in group exhibitions including The Active Eye (Manawatu Art Gallery 1975), Drive (Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth 2000) and History in the Taking: 40 Years of PhotoForum (2014).

The Black Asterisk Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 5pm.

http://www.blackasterisk.co.nz/exhibitions/flash-cars

Northart Gallery: ‘South’ – Photographs by Stephen Piper

www.northart.co.nz

‘Selective Exposure’ exhibition on show at In Situ Photo Project, Christchurch

 

Selective Exposure is a group exhibition, organised by Haruhiko Sameshima, featuring a new generation of contemporary photographers based in New Zealand, Germany and Japan. It features samples of prints from each photographer’s sustained projects. Originally exhibited at Photospace gallery in Wellington in November 2015, the opening at In Situ Photo Project will be the exhibition’s first showing in the South Island.

Including work by Caryline Boreham, Conor Clarke, Peter Evans, Shelley Jacobson, Julius Margan, Asumi Mizuo, Solomon Mortimer, Stephen Roucher, Shigeru Takato and Tim J. Veling, these photographers use analogue film technology to reflect aspects of reality filtered through their own experiences, mediated by the old world photographic process.

The artists in this exhibition have all graduated from New Zealand art schools majoring in photography, within the last 25 years. They then went off to explore such diverse subject matters as steaming towers in the industrial hub of Germany, television news studios from 40 countries and 70 cities, contemporary views of the city rebuilt after destruction by an atomic bomb, and petroleum industry related sites across New Zealand from the perspective of  ‘peak oil’. Others travelled to scout for alternative identities in the country’s heartlands, the shifting border between urban and rural in a home suburb or, even closer to home, looking deeply into family and kinship under duress.

The anachronism of using film cameras detaches the images from today’s immediate use-value in that it is, for example, unable to be uploaded instantly to Instagram but it does slow down the process, giving time to contemplate the consequences of image making. The resulting printed photograph will carry that residue of the legacy of veracity, which transcribes the ‘look’ of the world. Accumulation of their selected exposures feeds the artists’ narratives.

This exhibition is a survey of tertiary trained art photographers’ views of where we stand in the global world, staring intently into their individualised evidences of reality. Works here reflect notions of art as social and personal inquiry – seeking to better understand humanity from their chosen environments, and is a record of their experiences within.

Opening night:
6pm, Friday 8th July at the BNZ Centre, 120 Hereford Street, next to Scorpio Bookstore.

Show runs until 5th August

Gallery hours:
Open daily, 10am – 5pm

Selective Exposure at In Situ catalogue [pdf]

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Related events:
– 11 July 2016: In Conversation – Haruhiko Sameshima, Mark Adams, Tim J. Veling, Hannah Wilson. Following the discussion there will be a  film screening of ‘Pictures on Paper – Photobooks in New Zealand’ produced by Tangent NZ Photography Collective.
Full details at https://www.facebook.com/events/580140728813539/

To join the In Situ Photo Project mailing list and keep up-to-date with current events, please visit ispp.nz or their facebook page.

 

 

 

Ilan Wittenberg – Bare Truth

 

BARE TRUTH – Ilan Wittenberg

A compelling collection of images showing bare chested men will feature in the Auckland Festival of Photography 2016 Signature Programme.

5-22 June 2016

Northart Gallery
Norman King Square
Ernie Mays Street – Northcote Shopping Centre
Open daily 10am -4pm

One of the key aims of Wittenberg’s ‘Bare Truth’ campaign was to counter-balance the portrayal of men as strong, physically and emotionally. “This stereotype sometime leads to dire outcomes when considering how poorly typical men treat health symptoms such as depression, stress and anxiety,” he says.

“I wanted to raise awareness; give men the freedom to express their feelings and connect with their emotions. This fresh look at men is an eye-opening opportunity to see real people without the ‘shield’ of clothes. The project simply reminds us of how fragile we are.”

The combination of shooting in monochrome, using soft, directional light and adopting a special post-processing technique allowed Wittenberg to enhance the features of his ‘models’ so that the images are raw and crisp. The simple backgrounds eliminate distractions so the viewer can focus on their body language and facial expression.

The biggest challenge was finding the first man to agree to pose. After a few rejections, Wittenberg created portraits of close friends and family members. As the portfolio expanded, he formalised a consistent style and became confident in approaching strangers – men who had an interesting appearance or whose face told a story.

“While some men are very comfortable with having their portrait created, others feel this is completely outside their comfort zone, particularly when asked to strip down to the waist. One man expected the experience to be therapeutic while others were slightly nervous. The results show a captivating mix of men that are humble, courageous and vulnerable.”

The project gained momentum after selected prints from the body of work won awards in the Portrait Classic category of the 2015 Iris Awards from the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography. ‘Bare Truth’ was also selected as an Associated Exhibition at the 2016 Head On photo festival in Sydney.

About the photographer:
Having studied and worked in industrial engineering and information technology, Ilan Wittenberg is a relative newcomer to professional photography, only starting his journey in 2011. But his talents were quickly recognised, winning him a plethora of national and international awards. Ilan is a Fellow of the Photographic Society of New Zealand and a Master of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography. Selected works from the Bare Truth portfolio won Ilan the title: 2015 Auckland Photographer of the Year

‘Red Earth Reconnaissance’ – Emil McAvoy

Image: Emil McAvoy, Red Earth Reconnaissance, 2016

Red Earth Reconnaissance – Emil McAvoy
23 April – 4 June 2016
Saturday  23 April, 10:30am – 2pm: Opening and  combined Artist Talk – with Dawson Clutterbuck.

Papakura Art Gallery
10 Averill St, Papakura, Auckland
Hours: Mon to Fri, 9am – 5pm, Sat 10am – 2pm

‘Red Earth Reconnaissance’ is a botanical survey of the Papakura area beginning at the site of the Papakura Art Gallery and travelling outwards. ‘Red earth’ references the Maori name Papakura, and its soil rich in iron oxides. The botanical specimens come from and are connected to this fertile ground. The project aims to document and reframe fragments of the unique ecology of Papakura, toward a partial and poetic guide to this place and its peoples.

Related links:
http://emilmcavoy.com/peoplespark/  – a recent photographic project by McAvoy, exploring an environment similarly unfamiliar to him.

Red Earth Reconnaissance  & Doing Flowers Facebook event

Gallery Public Programme:
Wed 11 May, 10.30 – 12pm.  Flowers for the Home Workshop
Dawson Clutterbuck and Emil McAvoy will lead a workshop introducing the mechanics of floral arrangements. This workshop will be hands on and interactive. Please bring some flowers, greenery or containers to contribute on the day. Limited spaces available. Please contact the gallery to register. email: papakuraartgallery@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or phone: (09) 297 7510

Waitakere Central Library: From Guangdong to Aotearoa – Sue Gee

From Guangdong to Aotearoa – Sue Gee

5 Feb 2016 to 1 May 2016
J.T. Diamond Reading Room  & Gallery, Level 2, Waitakere Central Library,
3 Ratanui St, Henderson, Auckland

Hours: Mon to Fri: 9am – 5.30pm (Thurs open til 7pm), Sat and Sun: 10am – 4pm
Parking:  Alderman Drive car park – 2hrs free.
Walk across the bridge into Trading Place and the steps going up to the library are straight ahead.

This exhibition uses images, sound-bites and text to trace the journey of six New Zealand born Chinese as they trace their ancestral roots back to Guangdong, South China.

Six remarkable NZBC (New Zealand Born Chinese) talk about their lives.

Born in Eketahuna, Rotorua, Tamaki Makauru & Manaia, Taranki, they trace their ancestral roots to Guangdong, South China, previously known as Canton Province. Sound bites, written excerpts & photographs reveal fascinating insights into a cultural group once described as “The fearful race“.

‘The oral history project From Guandgong to Aotearoa came about through my wish to know more of my ancestral heritage. My mother and father, Lily and Jack, were born in Opunake and Manaia, in Taranaki. As young people, they left Aotearoa NZ to spend several years in their Cantonese villages, learning to speak Chinese, and something of our Chinese customs. I never asked them questions about their time in Guangdong and after they died, deeply regretted it.

The exhibition was initiated by and created with tautoko – support – of the people at the West Auckland Research Centre, WARC.

The interviewees are Connie Kum, Suzanne Chan On, Gillian Young, Watson Kitt, Lily Lee and Elsie Wong.

I’ll be in the gallery from 2-4pm on Saturday 30th April, also from 2-4pm on the 1st of May.  Do come. See / hear the work, and join us for a cup of Chinese tea.’

Sue Gee

05/02/16 news photo. Simon Smith/Fairfax NZ.
The launch of the oral history exhibition From Guangdong to Aotearoa by Sue Gee, on display at Waitakere Central Library, Henderson, Auckland.
From left: (back row) Gillian Yang, Lily Lee, project manager Liz Bradley and Suzanne Chan On,  (front row) Elsie Wong, project interviewer Sue Gee, and Connie Kum.

Book Launch: ‘Body of Work’ by Bruce Connew

www.thekeep.co.nz
www.bruceconnew.com

Blikfang Art & Antiques: Lightfall in passing – Michael Smythe

 

LIGHTFALL in passing

Real pictures revisited

Michael Smythe reckons Cibachrome prints are real pictures with extra qualities that do not carry through to digitisation. That’s why he is re-framing and re-exhibiting the images first shown at Real Pictures Gallery 32 years ago back when it was in His Majesty’s Arcade.

Smythe did not set out to be an exhibiting photographer. He took to the camera when he realised his design practice was not challenging his creativity at its outer limits (because his clients and/or their customers were not demanding enough). He needed a personal pursuit which did not require the scrutiny and evaluation of anyone but himself.

Experiments with photography found direction in his twin brother’s VW Beetle as it hurtled along the road to Gundagai in 1981. With no time to stop on this Sydney to Melbourne road trip Smythe began snapping the passing scenery from the passenger seat. One shot stood out. The distant desolate landscape was stark and sharp against a leaden sky while the foreground could best be described as a green-brown scribble. That shot set him off on a quest to document the elusive landscape as we usually experience it — in passing.

Many attempts followed but he found the results unsatisfying, until one evening in 1984. He was in the back seat of a client’s Holden Commodore speeding home from a Taupo site visit (with another designforces partner in the front). Between Meremere and Mercer the late afternoon light was bouncing off the Waikato River and flashing through the trees. Smythe wound down the window, set a slow exposure and worked his way intuitively through his two remaining rolls of Ektachrome slide film.

The results left him gobsmacked. The eerie imagery and extraordinary strike-rate left him feeling more like a midwife than an artist. Although exhibiting had never been part of his photographic plan it seemed that the next phase in his own exploration had to involve printing, framing and contemplating the best shots as a group.

Motion Pictures ran at Real Pictures Gallery from 17 September to 5 October 1984. The Cibachrome prints — with their multi-layered emulsions — added an extra level of enrichment. Three or four prints sold. And that was it. All further efforts to capture anything like the same energy and atmosphere have fallen short. The designer /artist has moved on.

Smythe is re-presenting the Real Pictures Cibachrome prints in an exhibition entitled LIGHTFALL in passing at Blikfang art & antiques, Northcote Point, running from 4 March to 16 April.

FOOTNOTE: Earlier in 1984 Michael Smythe had stood as the Labour candidate in the East Coast Bays seat. Most non-Nats voted for Gary Knapp (Social Credit) to stop Murray McCully from winning the seat. But Smythe did beat New Zealand Party candidate David Phillips — the property developer who, four years later, demolished His Majesty’s Theatre, paved paradise and put in a parking lot.

 

 

Open Book – Photobook Exhibition

 

 

Open Book – Photobook Exhibition

‘Open Book’ – exhibition coordinated by Shelley Jacobson

RM Gallery, 307 K’Road (first floor), Newton, Auckland
5 – 21 November
Opening Wednesday 4 November

Physics Room (library), Christchurch 5 December – 30 January
Opening Friday 4 December

Harvey Benge
David Cook
Shelley Jacobson
Andrew Kennedy
Solomon Mortimer
Mark Purdom
Haruhiko Sameshima
Ann Shelton
Fiona Short
Anita Totha
Tim J Veling
Shaun Waugh

‘Open Book’ consists of twelve new photobook works, created specifically for exhibition. Its premise is to provoke artists’ experimentation with the book form and to position the book as a gallery experience. Each artist has been given autonomy to pursue and realise a project of their individual interest, as relevant to their current practice. The collective result of these endeavours is a compact exhibition: each artist’s work is folded in on itself or cut and stacked, the content largely hidden from view. To experience it, you are invited to open a book.

Exhibition coordinator: Shelley Jacobson
Display furniture: Andrew Kennedy