2007

From its origins the History of Photography is inextricably linked to the exploratory nature of expanding societies. The documentation of new frontiers has seen the humble camera travel the width and length of continents and Australia has seen its share of photographers imbued with the bravado of exploration and the spiritual drive to search for themselves far away from known places.

These exhibitions in the spirit of Australian photographers like Frank Hurley are a reminder of one of the longest traditions in photographic practice. These images are as well a sign of the changes and achievements driving the spirit of new adventurers and their efforts to transcend time by sharing with us their vision and experiences.

Alfred Gregory’s retrospective exhibition charts a unique and outstanding career in photography. His images on the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 with Hillary and Tenzing hold a unique place in the history of human endeavour and photography. Born in 1913 in Lancashire (UK) and now residing in Australia, this mountaineer and photographer took to epic challenges with the same gusto and humility as illustrated in his charming series on Blackpool. An environmentalist and keen observer of human character his works are now an integral part of photographic history.
 
Aaron Burton’s exposé of teenagers at the Gold Coast reminds us of the work of Weegee, the palpable tension of some images in which something is waiting to happen seem to lead to the inevitable conclusion presented in the next image.  This graphic display makes action and consequence vivid, showing us the disturbing impact of our society’s romance with alcohol. The diversity of angles and composition mimics the uncertainty of vision and dream like qualities of the alcoholic haze and it lead us to reflect upon our own contribution to a problem that seems to grow everyday and the place it has in our own identity as a nation. A bold and courageous view neither sentimental or patronising making our own reactions to the experience a true measure of our preconceptions, our fears and the understanding we have of the issues regarding the youth of Australia.

In yet another variant of the documentary genre, Philippe Schneider brings his sensitivity to the Middle East. He uses the portrait as a way of introducing us to Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon since the occupation of their lands by the creation of the state of Israel after the Second World War.

These images and their accompanying texts bring into relief the personal stories that are at the core of events daily seen in television yet never presented in the public relations exercise the press has become. The obvious transference of European problems in to a historically charged area and the subsequent brutality and radicalism engendered by the legacy of the Holocaust, seem clearer in the personal stories of this women. Generations of Palestinians living a diaspora and holocaust not lesser in dimension than the ones created for the moviegoers. Philippe’s images makes one wonder if the lesson learnt from the last war was the right lesson or if as humans even the victims can continue to justify the unjustifiable and breed an ever more radical response.

These three exhibitions are a testament to the photographers and their personal challenge to face up to their choices, yet more importantly they remind us of the inexhaustible richness of a life lived by experience.


Maurice Ortega
Director, Queensland Centre for Photography