2017 Queensland College of Art Photography graduate catalogue

PHOTOGRAPHY QUEENSLAND COLLEGE OF ART, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

GRADUATES CATALOGUE 2017

PHOTOGRAPHY GRADUATES CATALOGUE QUEENSLAND COLLEGE OF ART GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY 19–25 OCTOBER 2017

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FOREWORD Dr Heather Faulkner

16 PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE

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PHOTOJOURNALISM Madeline Begley

Maddison Adkins

Leighton Brayshaw

CREATIVE ADVERTISING

Grace Beare

Stephen Jigalin

Lachlan Brealey

Joshua Prieto

Ingrid Coles

Jason Cahill

Victoria Elizabeth Reid

Melinda S. Johnson

Kathryn Farmer

Alesia Tabone

Marta Mendes de Sousa

Victoria Finnerty

Maxim Varghese

Sarah Murphy

Shannon Hurst

Jackie Warren

Beck Payne

Dominic Jaquet

Derek Repchuk

Patrick Lester

Elissa Rogers

Kimi Liddell

Ancia Wend

Kate Lund

Alex Wright

Tim Marshall

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Catherine Paglia Stephanie Rouyer Kate Ryan Liz Ryan Jackie Warren Rebecca Weir

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FOREWORD: RAISING THE BAR

In an increasingly digitised frontier world in which there are a plethora of professional claims, few are tried and tested as true. This year’s graduates of the Bachelor of Photography have proven their mettle as professional photographic practitioners through hard work, determination, and discipline.

Photography is easy. Advances in technology have continuously raised the professional bar for photography, from Kodak marketing cameras that would produce the vernacular ‘Kodak moment’ for the hobbyist photographer at the turn of the last century to the aggressive challenges that digital photography and social media platforms now present. Today, everyone is a photographer. The contemporary professional photographer’s task is to differentiate their practice from that of the average citizen. It is no longer enough to boast technical mastery of the medium—that is simply the realm of the layperson, technicians, or assistants. A professional creative practice demands vision, an ability to apply critical analysis to the subject and the body of work, to be informed by leading ethical, philosophical and cultural conventions, and to challenge them through reflective practice.

Photography is difficult (and yes, I’m tipping my hat generously to Paul Graham here). Students find this out in first year, when they struggle to not only articulate their grand ideas in words but also in form. Suddenly, the fulcrum of favour swings off-centre, Facebook and Instagram ‘likes’ no longer cut it. New criteria of value and meaning are set and must be met. Second year raises the bar even higher. By third year, students are learning independently, meticulously working on a year-long project that is expected to represent them as newly emerged professionals by the end of the process. Ask a graduate if it was an easy journey. It wasn’t.

The successful outcomes you see represented in this catalogue are built on failures and frustration. You do not see the hours of experimentation, of tutorial sessions spent in dialogue— sometimes heated, sometimes very sombre, and sometimes triumphant. Photo media artist Tracey Moffatt recently spoke to art critic John McDonald about her landmark photographic exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale. ‘“I was on one track, and spent weeks, no, months, failing. A lot of my Venice Biennale grant was spent on failure.”1

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Moffatt graduated from the Queensland College of Art (QCA) in 1982, and has since become one of Australia’s best known international artists, having had over 100 solo exhibitions around the globe. That she revealed the often difficult and challenging process she underwent to bring an exhibition like My Horizon to Venice is rare. Who wouldn’t want to create a body of work that looked effortless, easy? But it’s the failures met along the way, in process, in the investigations of medium and meaning, that define one’s credibility as an artist. Moffatt’s work is polished, seductive, and political. Opened at the Biennale by Mad Max: Fury Road film director George Miller, it is unmistakably Moffatt. As Matthew Westwood vividly describes, “When you see her work, you experience it with the entire self, the entire human being. You feel it in the viscera, you feel it emotionally, intellectually … and it ultimately sits somewhere in mythology. It hits you spiritually as well.”2 This is what our graduates aspire to—a style, a sensibility, an engagement with the senses and the intellect. And they have all invested dearly in the process that goes along with it. Three streams of photographic practice are represented here: Creative Advertising, Photographic Art Practice, and Photojournalism. Though perhaps disparate in their descriptions and applications of the medium, they share one element that unites and elevates all three to professional status: informed practice.

The photographic practitioners you see represented in this catalogue may take future career trajectories both familiar and unimaginable to us in 2017. One thing is for certain: through hard work and determination, they have raised the bar for the next iteration of graduates. As the Program Director of the Bachelor of Photography, and on behalf of our academic and support staff, I thank these new graduates for their investment in learning, their resilience in the face of challenges, and for their hard-won success here. They have each made an important contribution to our program, and we are grateful. We wish each new graduate success and fulfilment in their professional careers.

Dr Heather Faulkner Program Director, Bachelor of Photography Queensland College of Art Griffith University 5

1 John McDonald, “Tracey Moffatt on Success, Failure and the 57th Venice Biennale,” Australian Financial Review, 16 December 2016.

2 Matthew Westwood, “Venice Biennale: Fog lifts on Tracey Moffatt’s My Horizon,” The Australian, 11 May 2017.

INGRID COLES 6

CREATIVE ADVERTISING ingridcoles.wixsite.com/photography Ophelia 2017 archival inkjet print 22 x 15cm Ophelia 2017 archival inkjet print 15 x 22cm Ophelia 2017 archival inkjet print 22 x 15cm

This fashion series draws influence from William Shakespeare’s Ophelia and its melancholy and uncanny representation throughout nineteenth-century art. I am absorbed by the relationship between the natural and sublime landscape and the mysterious female figures. By drawing upon established symbols and iconography, the work seeks to pay homage to this familiar, yet Gothic, tale.

MELINDA S. JOHNSON CREATIVE ADVERTISING Bone Knife 2017 archival inkjet print 21 x 29.7cm Scissors 2017 archival inkjet print 22.5 x 22.5cm Reel 2017 archival inkjet print 22.5 x 22.5cm

Everything old can become new again This body of work explores the beauty of old household items.

The work focuses on the craftsmanship of these items in comparison to contemporary disposable items. The simplicity and sophistication of my images invite the viewer to reflect upon memories of a previous time, and to appreciate the quality and function of the objects. This series of images was created with the help of my local community and purchases from local second-hand stores.

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MARTA MENDES DE SOUSA 8

CREATIVE ADVERTISING martasousafotografia.com Sustaining Bodies 2017 archival inkjet print 100 x 250cm

We are slowly killing our bodies. Western society has created a disconnection from the food that we consume, as we increasingly seek perfection and convenience. This body of work explores our overconsumption of animal products, and the impact this has on our health through the construction of a series of grotesque monsters. Humorous yet disturbing, the series seeks to move the audience to reconsider their food choices.

SARAH MURPHY CREATIVE ADVERTISING sarahmurphy.com.au The Beauty We See 2017 archival inkjet print 32.9 x 48.3cm

Research has found that advertising and social media affect women and their perception of self-image. Advertising often portrays an idealised and unattainable sense of what one should look like, and consequently is capable of causing depression and a lack of self-worth. This body of work is a typological study that endeavours to highlight the beauty of each woman, while promoting positive self-image within all women.

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BECK PAYNE 10

CREATIVE ADVERTISING beckpaynephotography.com YTG 2017 35mm film archival inkjet print 59.4 x 84.1cm

This work is a visual representation of a small group of female surfers. The aim is to challenge the stereotypical portrayal of female surfers in advertising campaigns (often highly sexualised, ignoring the aptitude of these dedicated athletes).

The women in this work have been candidly photographed on film, in an attempt to expose their strength, inner confidence, and talent and to promote a positive and respectful representation of female surfers in pop culture.

DEREK REPCHUK CREATIVE ADVERTISING repchukphotographics.com Water I 2017 archival inkjet print 54.4cm x 84.1cm

‘Eternal Element’ is a series that explores artistic visions to embody the four classical elements of earth, air, fire, and water through creative photographic practices. Combining the use of experiential ultraviolet visual techniques to enhance each underlying individual aesthetic, this body of work seeks to question what it is to be human while becoming enriched by an astrological presence.

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ELISSA ROGERS 12

CREATIVE ADVERTISING Snap Back to Reality 2017 archival inkjet print 740 x 1500 cm

Our minds often wander off as we struggle through the work day. This series explores this experience by adopting the techniques of theatre and cinema, specifically the concept of breaking the fourth wall—the barrier that sits between an audience and the stage. The works endeavour to capture the daydreams we experience by combining photography and painting as a technique to blend reality and fantasy.

ANCIA WEND CREATIVE ADVERTISING anciawend.com Daydreams 2017 archival inkjet prints 59.4 x 84.1cm

I’ve always been a daydreamer, my mind constantly wandering.

I find myself doodling, creating distant worlds, which then spring to life. This body of work explores daydreaming and the surreal imagination that we all possess as ways to escape the mundanity and banality of our day-to-day working life.

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ALEX WRIGHT 14

CREATIVE ADVERTISING fb.com/AlexWrightPhotos Strangeness 2017 archival inkjet print 22.5 cm x 12.5 cm

I specialise in telling stories through my art. I draw inspiration from my fascination of the cinematic universe. My love of the macabre, uncanny, and the horror aesthetic has given me a drive to tell these stories.

ZHUOREN (WILLIAM) XU CREATIVE ADVERTISING williamxu.asia The Red Offspring 2017 archival inkjet print 57 x 38cm

This body of work explores traditional Asian culture in a modern society. Through my own Asian heritage and experience, these works seek to explore the tension between the peaceful and reflective, and the surrounding progressive nature of Chinese culture. The images utilise the strength of the colour red as it reflects the intensity of fire, and symbolises good fortune and joy in Chinese culture.

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MADDISON ADKINS 16

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE Caged Nature 2017 archival inkjet print, string, metal, synthetic netting 12.5 x 12.5cm Exotic Pet Keeping 2016 archival inkjet print, string, metal, synthetic netting 9 x 9cm

Most of us do not fully understand our impact on the Earth; many choose to ignore it. I create work that acknowledges and expands on the lack of people’s appreciation and respect for our environment. The work expresses the importance and innocence of nature through the comparison of intentional human pollution and destruction.

GRACE BEARE PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE Untitled 2017 instant film dimensions variable

‘Bodies and Figures’ constitutes a series of images that explore the capacity of Polaroid film as a medium of abstraction. While the Polaroid was traditionally used as a popular tool to produce ‘home erotica’, I use it to juxtapose chemical interferences with the Polaroid surface and the female body.

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LACHLAN BREALEY 18

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE George/ina 2017 archival inkjet print on aluminium 20 x 28cm

My photo montage of still and moving images uses scanned body fragments to assemble a constructed body in which the scanner acts as the physical connection between the medium and the depicted subject. The work aims to contribute towards an understanding of the relationship between our bodies and technology on one hand and the role it plays in Australia’s multicultural society on the other.

JASON CAHILL PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE jasoncahill.photo/ I Wish I Was Made of Light 2017 single-channel digital colour video, sound 3:24 min

Alienation from production, place, and environment as well as our unresolved colonial past have led to a culture that lacks authenticity and consequently stymies the development of our personal lives and communities.

I Wish I Was Made of Light is a lament on contemporary Australian society. It uses banal images of daily life to raise issues around Australian values and esteem. Original score composed by Reid Cooper. Performance by Lewis Stiles.

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KATHRYN FARMER 20

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE kathrynfarmer.com.au Found 2017 instant film 21 x 355cm

My work uses the conventions of the Polaroid to explore notions of identity and memory. Intervening with found Polaroid imagery through cutting, silhouetting, and sequencing, I emphasise the material quality of the Polaroid beyond the image. In the process, I visualise the fallible nature of our memory and the relevance of our human urge to archive the past.

VICTORIA FINNERTY PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE victoriafinnerty.com Clean 2017 archival inkjet print 84 x 59cm Filthy 2017 archival inkjet print 84 x 59cm

Finding old adult magazines in an abandoned mansion’s attic ignited an exploration into the artificiality and construction of vintage pornographic images. Given the content consumed on the internet nowadays, one can’t help but feel nostalgic for the days of Playboy and Hustler. The distorted women in this work reflect the constant need for shock value present in the adult industry.

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SHANNON HURST 22

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE #1 2017 archival inkjet print 42 x 59.4cm

My work investigates architectural structures that are inherent to the urban environment of Brisbane. Borrowing from the clean, intense precision of the DĂźsseldorf School of Photography and modernist painting, I explore aesthetic qualities and forms of the urban everyday and the results of an increasing density of population.

DOMINIC JAQUET PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE Unravelled 2017 cyanotype on twine installation

Focusing on the notion of entropy, my work concentrates in particular on the photograph’s intrinsic material quality through an investigation of alternative printing methods that ‘unravel’ traditional perceptions of the medium. Childhood and landscape photographs combine to highlight the effects of entropy in the social context.

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PATRICK LESTER 24

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE patricklester.net Framed 2017 archival inkjet print 42 x 59.4cm Untitled 2017 found frame 30.2 x 25cm

My work uses self-portraits taken in the studio and comments written on the back of picture frames to illustrate issues and inequalities that still affect queer Australians. Some of these issues include donating blood, adoption, the Safe Schools Program, queer history and marriage equality. The work responds to the conce,ptual framework of Queer Theory and frames it specifically within an Australian context.

KIMI LIDDELL PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE You Are Your Sisters 2017 archival inkjet prints variable

You Are Your Sisters is a body of work taken on 35mm film that examines intimate female friendships within the setting of my share house. The series aims to capture the vulnerable and intimate moments within a small group of young women exploring their identity and sexuality as individuals. The work investigates crossovers between installation and documentary practice.

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KATE LUND 26

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE Lost and Found 2017 archival inkjet prints 29.7 x 42cm each

Lost and Found uses deadpan photography to create a typology of disregarded locations in the Toowoomba region.

Focusing on seemingly abandoned fringes of this country town, the series is a reminder of the importance of banality, while also describing a concept of suburbia that fails in this particular context.Â

TIM MARSHALL PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE knitrex9.wixsite.com/mysite There’s No Place Like Home 2017 archival inkjet print Little Pigs Let Me In 2017 archival inkjet print

My work is activist art that critiques Capitalism and its effects on modern society. I create installations and photograph them. This work subverts the fairy tale and critiques the real estate market as a commodity. It raises questions of ethics, standards of living, gaps between social strata, greed and equality. It asks the viewer to consider what is the fairy tale life and what is the real cost of the supposed ‘Great Australian Dream’.

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CATHERINE PAGLIA 28

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE ď…­ @catherine_paglia After Ernst. After Bellmer 2017 archival inkjet print

My work presents large-scale projections of collages that reflect on the subjectification of women in Western art history, popular magazines, and pornography media. I create a subconscious mindscape that critiques these domineering patriarchal sensibilities consistently perpetuated within our visual culture. Towards this end, I specifically reference the Surrealist artists Hans Bellmer and Max Ernst.

STEPHANIE ROUYER PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE Body Language 2017 archival inkjet prints 32.9 x 48.3cm each

Body image plays a key role in the formation of identity, where negative body image leads to low confidence and poor health habits. Using vernacular photographs and text, my work aims to show how everyday comments can reinforce body stereotypes. Combining gathered comments and found photographs, I expose the effects everyday language can have on children and how it might influence them to think and feel about their bodies.

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KATE RYAN 30

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE Thnx 4 Uploading 2017 video installation

Thnx 4 Uploading is a video installation re-interpreting images found and collected from across the internet. Using ‘stolen’ data to create a simulacra of reconstructed human identity, the installation responds to the consequences of our current social media and internet behaviour. Thus, the installation references individual narcissism, mass consumerism, corporate exploitation, and identity theft to express our vulnerability in cyber space.

LIZ RYAN PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE untitled 2017 archival inkjet print dimensions variable

Through my work, I aim to explore the connection between the female body and nature, both of which traditionally have been defined by the male gaze. This body of images aims to explore alternative female interpretations of a woman’s body from a point of view inspired by eco-feminism and an ecological conscience.

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ANNIKA TEMPLETON 32

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE Untitled 2017 archival inkjet print 267 x 84cm

This work investigates psychological functioning within an urban environment. It combines chaotic industrial space with meditational physical interventions to impose order in an inherently disordered landscape.

JACKIE WARREN PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE fb.com/JackieAnnsPhotography/ “It’s Sciencey” 2017 image transfer, tracing paper and on light box (digital copy) dimensions variable

“It’s Sciencey” is a work that I created to combine science with art. By photographing through the scientific instrument of a microscope, I investigate the death and decay of insects. I’ve used techniques to make the images tangible and to suggest a ‘sciencey’ look to them, as I want the audience themselves to feel as though they are investigating the death and decay of the insect before them.

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REBECCA WEIR 34

PHOTOGRAPHIC ART PRACTICE Essence of Things 2017 archival inkjet print 30 x 30cm

What do all things have in common? Form. Through my work, I reduce the world around me to colour, shape, and form to create captivating images that are both graphic and transformative. Rather than showing the world ‘as it is’, I aim to infuse it with my personal vision to create a new reality that concentrates on the essence of things.

MADELINE BEGLEY PHOTOJOURNALISM

How much is too much?

madelinebegley.com

Research indicates that Australians consume textiles at a rate twice the global average. But what effect does our buying behaviour have on the environment and what does it mean for the workers who produce our garments? This body of work is aimed at stimulating a discussion about how much we really know about the clothes we wear every day.

How much is too much? #32 2017 archival inkjet print

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LEIGHTON BRAYSHAW 36

PHOTOJOURNALISM leightonbrayshaw.com Wetlands #1 2017 archival inkjet print 50 x 70cm Wetlands #2 2017 archival inkjet print 50 x 70cm

Through the use of drone technology, this series investigates the coastal wetlands of the greater Brisbane area. The aerial perspective reveals the colour, texture, diversity, and complexity of the microenvironments that exist within these crucial ecosystems.

ELISE GELLWEILER PHOTOJOURNALISM

A Sting in the Tale

elisegellweiler.com

The humble honey bee pollinates one-third of our global food supply yet its numbers are in a dramatic global decline.

Decades of harmful pesticide use and other natural and man-made factors have left the future of the species and our global food supply up in the air. A Sting in the Tale encourages a deeper understanding of the absolute necessity for bees in our ecosystem and society through a more intimate view than one would normally encounter.

Pollen 2017 inkjet print 22.5 x 17.8cm Wings 2017 inkjet print 22.5 x 17.8cm Hair 2017 inkjet print 22.5 x 17.8cm

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STEPHEN JIGALIN 38

PHOTOJOURNALISM stephenjigalin.com Continuance 2017 archival inkjet prints 100 x 150cm each

This series explores the impact of dementia, both on the individual and on their relationships. It seeks to gently challenge the notion that identity and purpose dissipate along with memories. While they are forever changed, the person remains.

EBONEE KOTSARIS PHOTOJOURNALISM eboneekotsaris.squarespace.com I Am #8 2017 photographic print 80 x 50cm I Am #11 2017 photographic print 80 x 130cm I Am #14 2017 photographic print 64 x 80cm

My father’s absence in my life and my desire to start my own family prompted the questions that inspired my photographic journey this year. I Am is an existential body of work that explores the complex relationships we have with our parents and how they condition us into adulthood. Through investigating fragmented memories and experiences from throughout my life, this project attempts to piece together the puzzle of who I am.

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JOSHUA PRIETO 40

PHOTOJOURNALISM joshuaprietophotography.com Cane Toad 2017 inkjet printed photograph 74.2 x 59.4cm Rusa Deer 2017 inkjet printed photograph 84.1 x 105.1cm Warning Signs 2017 inkjet printed photograph 42 x 52.5cm

Rampant aims to identify the impact of introduced animals that flourish in South-East Queensland by visually exposing their enormity and ability to adapt to new environments. The work seeks to evoke thought in the public and gain support for measures to counter feral species. As heroes in their own right, these animals are both beautiful and damaging to Australian habitats.

VICTORIA ELIZABETH REID PHOTOJOURNALISM victoriareidphotography.com.au victoriareid.photoshelter.com Gender Fluid 2017 photographic inkjet print 42 x 59.4cm Fleeting Moments 2017 photographic inkjet print 42 x 59.4cm Miss Him Already 2017 photographic inkjet print 42 x 59.4cm

This body of work examines the search for sexual freedom in a society in which tightly prescriptive sexual norms prevail. It focuses on people who create meaning in their worlds outside of what is considered ‘normative’ behaviour.

Exchange of power, consent, trust, role playing, and gender identity are explored. The intention of this project is to promote dialogue around existing sexual stereotypes and stigmas.

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EMMA SCHWENKE 42

PHOTOJOURNALISM emmaschwenke.com Ladies Night 2017 photographic prints

Gender performance, as feminist theorist Judith Butler posits, “is a stylised imitation of the dominant conventions of gender”.

Ladies Night investigates how young women perform their identities in different spaces. Our gestures, clothing, speech, and behaviours work to project what is perceived as an ‘essential’ part of our identity, but, as this project argues, they also contribute to how we conform to expectations of gender in different spaces.

ALESIA TABONE PHOTOJOURNALISM Home: A Shattered Concept 2017 photographic prints 22.5 x 15cm each

When the thought of home is the only thing that gets you through your darkest days, how do you deal with coming home to find that you no longer fit in and are no longer part of the one true belief that kept you going? This project is about the struggles of returning home and fitting back into society.

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MAXIM VARGHESE 44

PHOTOJOURNALISM Hadrian 2017 photographic inkjet print

Hadrian Smith is a thirteen-year-old with Mowat-Wilson Syndrome. I have photographed Hadrian for one year, documenting how he observes and experiences the world and how he relates to his family. Tactile, audible, and visual stimuli provide engagement and the opportunity to express himself. Very little documentary work exists about MowatWilson Syndrome, and how individuals with this syndrome experience the world. This project contributes to the redress.

JACKIE WARREN PHOTOJOURNALISM fb.com/JackieAnnsPhotography Fandom 2017 lustre photo paper

Fandom is a series of images that tell the stories of those, who are fans of pop culture in 2017. As a participant observer, I want the audience to understand the enjoyment people have in cosplay and being a part of pop culture and how magnificent it is.

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PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF 2017

ACADEMIC STAFF

STUDIO TUTORS

Mr Isaac Brown

Ms Christine Ko

Ms Amy Carkeek

Ms Emma Leslie

Dr Heather Faulkner

Mr Louis Lim

Mr Martin Smith

Ms Michelle Vine

Mr Peter Thiedeke Prof Jay Younger

SUPPORT STAFF Ms Lisa Brown

SESSIONAL STAFF

Mr Tony Hamilton

Dr Renata Buziak

Mr Greg Hoy

Dr Joachim Froese

Ms Christine Ko

Dr Alannah Gunter

Ms Emma Leslie

Ms Christine Ko

Mr Louis Lim

Mr Louis Lim

Ms Chantel Schott

Mr William Long Dr Kelly McIllvenny Mr Bruce Reynolds Mr Josef Ruckli Dr AKM Shehab Uddin

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PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

Anna Smith Portraiture Award