I am studying at Photography Studies College in Melbourne, and completing a 4 year Advanced Diploma of Photography. In June 2020 I completed my second year presentations, which puts me at exactly the half way point of this degree. It's been pretty amazing, considering I only really picked up my first 'real' camera in 2014. I've really enjoyed learning about famous photographers, the theory behind what they have done, and being encouraged to really think about what we are producing. The degree leads to fourth year where we need to specialise in either 'art' or 'commercial'. I'm finding myself drawn more and more towards the art side than the commercial side. I'm really finding a strong interest in exploring the natural vs urban worlds. This folio is embarking on a direction that I can really see myself exploring and refining.
My statement of intention for this work:
Today’s popular landscape imagery can be traced back to 18th century British landscape artists. The Picturesque tradition paired man’s concept of the beauty of nature, with elements of wilderness. The Picturesque was brought to life by careful arrangements created by artists and tourists, or constructed in the vast estates of the wealthy.
This an exploration of these traditions today through photography. Landscapes throughout Victoria have been sought and composed in the Picturesque tradition. Photographs have been taken through a wooden grid frame with textured glass panels to exaggerate the constructed nature of these viewpoints.
The frame is set within rough, unfinished construction, alluding to ‘ownership’ of land, and serving as a ‘gallery wall’ where landscape paintings would traditionally be found.
This has been a great project for me to complete during COVID lockdown, as I did a couple of four day trips to capture as much material as I could, then spent 4 weeks of isolation working on bringing all the elements together. Each image is a composite of between 3 and 6 separate images.
You can see the images from the series here on my site.
Alternatively you can see them in a virtual reality gallery with an accompanying soundscape for each image here.
To hear the soundscape, take the guided tour by pressing 'play' at the bottom of the screen once it's loaded.