NZFM "Passion" Exibition Opening.

This was a exhibition in the Auckland photography festival. which showcased photos by the New Zealand Flickr Meetups group. Which I had a photo in. the exhibition contained a varied range of photographs with different approaches and areas of interest. the opening had a more family reunion style feel than the sterility of auckland art fair. It was in kinder house, a cozy small space spanning two rooms with a entryway, the walls lined with photos and a projection display in one of the rooms. there was uniformity in the framing. green textured walls. and a dress casual dress code. The breif for the exibition was about what makes you passionate about photography, with each of the 47 framed photos having a small reasoning behind the individuals passion for the photographic practice. The authentic reasons were a nice deviant from the usual pretensious artistic statements acompanying most exhibitions. My initial thoughts of the space was the shock of how small it seemed at first but after a few minutes it started feeling large. the large collection of varying interests and subjects make the exibition very aproachable with each photo having their own personality within the confines of the black frame white border, a window into others lives and thoughts.

Polaroid is Dead, Stephen Tilley

Polaroids fascinate me, its science in a box, the biological human dictating a physics based device and then a animistic chemistry reaction , the Polaroid notion has a Romanticism to it, and its the one camera fanaticism I get , the spurr of the moment encapsulated within a window. its a tangible result there in your hand with a developed picture in 15-120 seconds. last year I attempted to acquire a passport photo Polaroid camera. but was thwarted by negative balance in my trade me account. and theres a sense of disappointment at not getting to try it personally, with revival attempt looking a few years off. its a integral part of history a nogistalic entity for many a symbol of another time.

The exhibition consisted of series of Polaroid grids showing details, a scene built up by many different shots, showing detail of the models form, clothes, face etc and the surrounding objects the image built up from 36+ shots, so often subjects were doubled over which makes them look significantly busy in appearance at first, especially when you try to look at the image as a whole.
The feel of it was quite subdued in the palette. Salmon, orangy, yellows the squares of glossy picture surrounded by white rectangles. with occasional colours seeping in like blues and greens from clothing or furniture. the curve of the the human form contrasted inside the straight edges of the media.

I <3 geometrical arrangements of photos, and how it comes of like a memory. how when you take in something visualy you break it down into small fragements. a collection of observations. like the little things you notice about someone you like. the photos guide you through this, frame by frame adding something new to the dialougue. a capture of a moment of time. yet these individual frames show motion and capture of personality.

I got to talk to the artist as he cleaned up the bottles and glasses from the gallery party. He talked about how he started them one and a half years ago, since he was asked to have a work at the opening of a hip hop style gallery's opening, and felt underwhelmed by just showing a photograph when the others had large muralesque works. so he decided to shoot using Polaroids, inspired by a mural of a deceased k road tatto artist. he started with a planned out sketch of what he wanted to do get in the grid.(note this is based of my memory so facts might be off)


I loved how the works weren't supported by a pompous plethora of artistic waffling with a mundane picture gaining its meaning through the thousand words accompanying it.these works stood there on their own. the beauty of them up by themselves untainted. there on the wall in their simplistic complexity. the natural human curve forms within the straight lines.i loved the shapes the occasional break in the shapes with a whole object contained or a missing Polaroid, the occasional imperfections. the colours, and the contrast of the matte white borders on each shot with the gloss of the picture encapsulated. the scale, and repitsion of forms from another angle or composition, I left in awe of them inspired and saddened about the demise of the medium

It was the first exhibition that I've been tempted to take acquire something,but the two that I loved had already bought can't find picture of them either , it would have been tempting if they weren't, especially since due to the nature of Polaroids there wouldn't be any reprints.


Stephens website Stil Photgraphy
pictures acquired from here and here

Auckland Art Fair

The Auckland Art Fair was a art fair located inside the old America's cup bases. down on the waterfront near the tank farm.
It was probably the most high brow art event that I've been to they even had proper wine glasses (which you could occasionally hear breaking), cheese, and lapel pins.
I felt somewhat under dressed wearing jeans and a tshirt and a hoody.

The event was laid out so that each gallery had a small booth which to display works often with the same artists works showing up at different galleries booths.

Liam Barr had paintings which depicted children with small touristy Maori toys, they had quite a sinister quality especially "The Rescue of Miss Dorothy Hohepa" where the Maori toys had fought off the European toys. i enjoyed how the touristy toys i associate with mass produced in china toys had fought off the horrible influence of the Europeans. Saving her from losing her culture. while shes wearing Westerner clothes. I loved his painting aesthetic with detailed backgrounds forms shading and the expressions on the characters.


Linde Ivemey had large dolls adorned with bones the one I found most interesting was a large human shaped doll with rabbit ears with a small doll behind its back it was a black material covered in a material like layer of bones sewn like fishnet, the effect was really interesting and as you got closer you start to notice the spine pieces, she also had several others with one being a fine sack material human shape with a owl like head looking distraught at a decapitated Friend. it had chicken bones as fingers. Ivemeys human like forms with a animalistic element exhumed a science of playfulness and innocence but the bones suggested otherwise.


Stephen Bush painted large apocolyptic?? paintings with exuberant colours and smears like chemical spills beheaded animal head. smoke pollution. in each painting a person wearing a mask obscuring the face like a bees keeper mask, welding mask. is present, industrial type imagery clashing with fantasy. with natural all creating a blender of colours and imagery.

Callum Arnold paints what appear to mimic multiple exposures which seems to show a areas development over time, which makes the static nature of a landscape feel no longer like just a capture of a single moment of time. but showing the development of a place, it was interesting concept I've haven't been seen done in a paint medium.

A more amusing part was a photo of a kakapo a black and white portrait with a a shallow depth of field and Judith noticed how nice it was and I looked at its eye and it looked a bit wrong, so then I analysed the reflection in its eyes and concluded it was a stuffed bird, you could see the desk with black cloth on it the tripod the photographer behind the tripod, totally ruining the mystique of the image for her.


The space itself had a different feel than a gallery, It was more like Big boys Toys stacked full of art. and it was quite difficult to give ample time to all the works, we employed a method called speed art. which involved 3 passes through the space stopping and analysing anything that caught our interest.

Callum Arnold picture from Suite Gallery
Liam Barrs picture from Warwick Henderson Gallery
Stephen Bush picture from Sutton Gallery
Linde Ivemey picture from my flickr